Apple has a secret team working on virtual reality technology

The most interesting twist of late is that Apple acquired Israeli based PrimeSense who was likewise working on a future VR headset that we briefly touched on in a report titled “Take a Peek at a Few Key PrimeSense Patents that Apple Gained”.

Apple is already well into an effort to explore the possibilities of virtual and augmented reality products, and one of the applications may be in the rumored Apple auto.

Apple also has a trove of patents related to technology that could be put to work in reality-altering gear. But to hear it has “hundreds of staff” exclusively dedicated to the spaces may hint at it being revealed relatively soon. The secret team has been building VR headsets for months, but it’s unclear whether they’ve come up with a specific product idea yet.

After reporting first quarter results that saw iPhone units grow just 0.2% year over year, Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple said it expects fiscal second quarter revenue to be between $50 billion and $53 billion, below the $58 billion it generated in the same time frame last year.

Many believe that the VR headset could become an accepted way of networking on social channels, playing games, or watching live video streamed by a far-away friend with a 360-degree camera.

Forget the mythical Apple Car, Apple’s next big revenue stream may have something to do with virtual reality.

Incidentally, Apple last week hired Doug Bowman, a highly respected Computer Science professor considered to be one of the foremost Virtual Reality experts in the United States. Apple’s interest in VR and AR dates back to the mid-2000’s but back then Steve Jobs thought the technology was “immature”, according to FT.

Apple was not immediately available to comment.

Also recently, Apple acquired Flyby Media, a startup that had been working with Google to let smartphones “see” the world around them.

“Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our goal or plans”.