Apple hires lead HoloLens engineer for potential iOS AR features

If Apple is working on an augmented reality project, it would be doing so at a time in which nearly every other major technology company is exploring the space.

Munster notes that Metaio owns 171 worlwide patents related to augmented reality technology, which would put Apple in 11th place for the number of augmented reality and head-mounted display patents held.

Munster’s note was based on Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook’s recent hiring of a key Microsoft HoloLens employee and conversations with industry contacts. The ability to re-create sound coming from a distinct location and changes based on proximity and direction of the object should not be overlooked.

Still, Munster says Apple is not likely to out an AR device anytime soon. As 9to5Mac points out, earlier this year Apple acquired augmented reality firm Metaio and it has previously hinted at working on an augmented reality feature for its maps service, which would make navigation easier.

Apple has also previously posted job listings for people who have experience working on augmented and virtual reality projects, though the specifics of what they would be developing at the Cupertino company have remained vague since. Even more interestingly, this is actually Thompson returning to the Apple fold – as (according to Apple Insider) his LinkedIn profile indicates a previous stint at the technology giant.

The latest appointment of a “CPU Software and Audio Engineer”, one Nick Thompson, reportedly from Microsoft’s HoloLens engineering staff, adds yet more fuel to that AR fire.

For example, Munster picked AR clues from Apple Inc. Munster spotted though more evidence that there is a bigger effort underway. Apple purchased the company that designed the first Xbox Kinect sensors for Microsoft, PrimeSense, back in 2013. Does this mean Apple is working on its own augmented reality hardware, or perhaps a way for phones and tablets to deliver such an experience?