The inventor behind the Oculus Rift, Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Oculus, has suggested that Apple is satisfied with a virtual reality headset that has not yet been officially revealed. His comments circulated on social media and tech circles after the chatter began to surface on Twitter.
“Apple’s headset looks exceptionally capable,” Luckey stated. He added that there is strong internal confidence at Apple regarding a successful rollout of the device.
9to5Mac reported that the first in-house testers have had a chance to try the device. Sources within the publication said testers were surprised by the new headset’s performance and potential.
Luckey has not confirmed that he has personally seen or used an Apple headset. 9to5Mac journalists consider such confirmation unlikely given Apple’s notorious secrecy around new products. Still, there is a sense in the industry that Luckey may have interacted with Apple developers and testers through informal channels.
Oculus, founded by Luckey, became one of the early success stories in augmented and virtual reality hardware. Oculus was acquired by Facebook for a reported sum of about $2 billion in 2014, a milestone that helped propel consumer VR into the mainstream. Luckey introduced the Rift in 2016 while working at Facebook, signaling a turning point for immersive technology.
In March 2017 Luckey stepped away from Facebook and parted ways with Oculus. He then started Anduril Industries, a defense technology company built with a number of former Oculus executives. The firm focuses on autonomous systems and technologies for national security applications.
Rumors around Apple’s first VR headset, reportedly named Reality Pro, have circulated for months. Early estimates have placed the price around $4,000, or roughly 320,000 rubles at current exchange rates. The device is anticipated to be shown at Apple’s upcoming WWDC developer conference, with details expected to surface in the days ahead.