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Sony boosting 3D camera sensor orders as Apple shows increased interest

Sony is organizing a production ramp of 3D camera sensors for next year after seeing increased interest for the technology from major customers including Apple, a report from Bloomberg Quint explains.

The Japanese tech firm is allegedly ramping production of both rear and front 3D camera modules, while also working on separate software toolkits for developers to toy with generating 3D imagery.


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Apple granted AR patent for interior design and animated movie posters, includes headset use

Apple has today been granted a patent for augmented reality apps for interior design and animated movie posters. The patent award comes the day after we learned more about plans for an AR app in partnership with Swedish furniture company Ikea.

Apple recently announced ARKit as part of iOS 11, providing hands-on demos at WWDC …


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Facebook releases AR Camera Effects platform, & VR Facebook Spaces

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At Facebook’s developer conference F8 today, the company announced its new software platforms that mix augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality.

The company is taking a leap into a new realm of interactions, and they’ve started by sharing a lot of them today. Some of the new software can already be seen inside of Facebook’s camera app starting today.


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Oculus VR founder says they won’t support Mac until Apple ‘releases a good computer’

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What role Apple should play in virtual reality has been debated for a while now, but one major VR company today had a few things to say about Apple as a whole. Speaking to ShackNews at the Microsoft Windows 10 Showcase in San Francisco, Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey was asked about the possibility of the Oculus platform ever supporting Mac OS X; his response was that it depends on if Apple ever “releases a good computer.”


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VR coming to iOS within 2 years, says guy who repeatedly predicted an Apple HDTV launch “next year”

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There’s no doubt that Apple has a definite interest in virtual reality. Tim Cook said on the most recent earnings call that “it’s really cool and has some interesting applications,” and he didn’t see it as a niche product. That’s as big a clue as Apple ever gives about its degree of interest in a product area.


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Apple now selling a classic take on the virtual reality headset with the new View-Master

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View-Master Starter Pack (Featured Image)

Apple today has started selling the View-Master Virtual Reality Starter Pack on its online store. With all the news about the company building out and prototyping virtual reality tech, it’s interesting to see it offering a glimpse at what that future tech may be by selling the device on the online store. Harkening back to the classic ideals of the View-Masters from the past, the new View-Master allows users to go on exciting new adventures. Utilizing a mix of augmented reality and virtual reality, these adventures are now taken to a whole new level. Taking advantage of Experience Packs, users can navigate space, various destinations, and wildlife through a mix of AR and VR.


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Apple reportedly building secret research team to develop virtual and augmented reality tech

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<a href="http://viptest.9to5mac.com/2016/01/05/speck-pocket-vr-viewer/" target="_blank">Speck’s VR solution on the iPhone</a>

During this week’s earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook answered a question on virtual reality by saying “I don’t think VR is a niche…It’s really cool and has some interesting applications.” It looks like Cook’s statements have some background to them. According to a new Financial Times report, Apple had reportedly been prototyping VR headsets in the past under Steve Jobs in the mid-2000s, but the project was eventually abandoned once the technology was found to still be immature. With new acquisitions and a dedicated VR team, the effort is said to be once again a new focus.


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Opinion: Now is the time for Apple to enter the VR market, but it shouldn’t go all in

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Apple has long been rumored to have an interest in the virtual reality market, but the company itself has always remained quiet on the technology. That’s not an unusual strategy for Apple, though, as it often only makes very general, or even negative, comments about a technology until it is ready to announce its own foray into a market. During the company’s earnings call for the first quarter of 2016, however, CEO Tim Cook was asked about his opinions on virtual reality.

Speaking on the call, Cook said that he thinks virtual reality has some interesting applications and noted that he doesn’t think it is a niche market, a comment often used against the technology by its naysayers. “I don’t think VR is a niche,” Cook said. “It’s really cool and has some interesting applications.”

This begs the question as to what exactly Apple has planned for virtual reality. There are a variety of possibilities, some of which companies like Google have already capitalized on. As we’ve learned in the past, however, Apple has no problem with launching its own version of a technology later in the game. So, let’s talk about some of the potential places in which Apple could implement virtual and augmented reality technologies…


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Apple hires top virtual & augmented reality researcher Doug Bowman

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According to a new report out of the Financial Times, Apple has hired one of the top virtual reality researchers in the United States to expedite its efforts in the platform. The report claims that Apple has recently hired Doug Bowman, who most recently was a computer science professor at Virginia Tech before taking a sabbatical. At Virginia Tech, he was the director of the university’s human-computer interaction center for around five years.


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Disney-backed virtual reality company brings 360-degree videos to Apple TV

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If you have an Apple TV, look out for the Littlstar app, which brings 360-degree videos to the platform for the first time. The company says that it has thousands of videos in its library, including ones from major brands like Discovery, Disney, Fusion, MLB, Mountain Dew, National Geographic, PBS and Red Bull.

You use the trackpad on the Siri remote to control your viewpoint. In a ballet video, for example, you can look around the theater as well as watch the performance, to get more of a sense of really being there …


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9to5Toys Last Call: SanDisk 32GB WiFi Drive $30, Black Friday Media Streamers, View-Master VR bundle $35, more

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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

Heads up! During Black Friday/Cyber Monday you’re going to have to follow us on Twitter to get the best deals since many sell out too quickly to post.

TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

Last Call Updates:

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Best of Black Friday – 10 can’t-miss deals for the holiday season: HDTVs, iPad Air 2, iPhone 6s, more

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SanDisk Connect 32GB Wi-Fi Flash Drive for iOS/Android: $30 Prime shipped (Reg. $40)

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Best of Black Friday – Streaming Media Players: Apple TV 64GB $180, Roku SE $20, 2-Pack Chromecast (2nd gen) $50more

Best of Black Friday – HDTVs: 40-inch from $149, Samsung 55-inch Smart $580 (Reg. $1,200), more

Best of Black Friday – iPads, Tablets and e-readers: iPad Air 2 from $360, Amazon Fire $35 (Reg. $50)more

Best of Black Friday – Games: Xbox One/PS4 console bundles, deep discounts on games, more

Best of Black Friday – wearables: Fitbit Flex $59/Charge $90/more, $100 off Apple Watch, Android smartwatchesmore

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View-Master Virtual Reality Bonus Bundle: Starter Pack PLUS “Destinations” Experience Pack $35 shipped (Orig. $45)

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Apple Watch sale at Best Buy, $50 off across the board, starting at $299 shipped (Open box $278)

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20% off iTunes Gift Cards: $100 for $80, $50 for $40, $25 for $20

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Giveaway: mophie juice pack reserve battery case for iPhone 6/s (multiple winners)

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

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Games/Apps: Star Wars Battlefront $50 or Battlefront PS4 bundle $330, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate $50, iOS freebiesmore

BLACK FRIDAY AD LEAKS & NEWS:

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Best Buy’s Black Friday ad brings deals on Apple Watch, Macs, HDTVs, games & more!

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

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Enjoy music anywhere in your home w/ the SONOS PLAY:1 Starter Set for $349 shipped ($400 value)

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App Store Free App of the Week: PDF Expert 5 goes free for the first time ($10 value)

Implosion – Never Lose Hope for iOS goes free for the first time as IGN’s Game of the Month ($10 value)

Hitman Sniper for iOS hits its lowest price yet: $2 (Reg. $5)

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T-Mobile is discounting iPhone 6s/Plus by $100 when bought on an installment plan or outright

Huge savings on pre-owned Apple Watches, deals from as low as $261 shipped

Apple iPod Touch 5th gen 16-64GB sizes, multiple colors: $149-$199 shipped

Apple Magic Mouse 2 (open-box): $68 shipped (Reg. $80)

Apple iPad Mini 2, space gray or silver: $199 shipped ($70 off)

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

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Mass Fidelity tries to solve virtual stereo sound with its new Core wireless speaker

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What Watch uses Bluetooth connectivity to tab the memorable moments of your life

 

Apple hire of Microsoft HoloLens engineer fuels speculation as it plans AR features for iOS 9

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UI concept for VR iPhone case Pinć from Cordon Labs

Apple has recently hired a lead engineer from Microsoft’s HoloLens team, leading to more speculation that it could be working on its own augmented reality project behind the scenes.

Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster first spotted the change of positions for Nick Thompson, who was reportedly previously leading audio hardware engineering efforts for Microsoft’s Hololens augmented reality project:
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Mattel plans to release its new Google Cardboard-based VR toy on iOS by end of the year

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Google and Mattel are holding a press event today to announce a new product that merges Google’s experimental Cardboard virtual reality platform with Mattel’s classic View-Master toy. Also announced at the event: Mattel plans to bring the new View-Master toy and with it Google’s Cardboard platform to the iPhone by the end of the year.
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CES 2015: Pinć VR headset for iPhone 6 hands-on and first impressions

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A few months ago, we visited Toronto-based Cordon Labs for some hands-on time with the work-in-progress Pinć VR headset case for the iPhone 6 and Android-based smartphones. Fast forward to CES 2015 and we’ve once again had a few minutes to check out a new and improved prototype of the headset, now 20% slimmer and closer to becoming an accessory that could actually be pocketable without protruding through your pants. Read ahead for my first impressions of the Pinć and a brief overview of where I think it is headed.
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Apple wins patent for 3D iPhone UI w/ motion gestures, reassigns PrimeSense 3D mapping patent

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Apple was today awarded a patent for touch-free, motion sensing gestures within 3D GUI concepts just as the company reassigns a patent related to 3D mapping technologies that it picked up through its acquisition of PrimeSense.
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Apple is working on VR gaming & user interfaces for future products, Oculus and Leap experts wanted

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Update: Apple removed the job listings, but we have screenshots below.

Following our discovery that Apple was looking to hire app engineers to build virtual reality experiences, new job listings give us more insight into its interest in building VR gaming experiences and “cinematic user interfaces” for future Apple products.


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Hands-on with Pinć, a $99 VR headset for iPhone 6 w/ Minority Report-style user interfaces (Video)

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Last week I met up with the people behind Pinć (Pinch), an under development VR headset that utilizes Minority Report-style user interfaces opposed to the mostly gaming experiences we’ve seen thus far from the competition. There are also a few other big differentiators for Pinc: it doubles as an iPhone case, uses hand gestures tracked by the iPhone’s camera for input, and includes a full SDK for developers built on Unity.
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Mac users can now develop apps for Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Headset

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Mac users who want to start developing software for the Facebook-owned Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Headset platform can now do so. Oculus today released an update to their software SDK that opens up support for users on OS X:

Notably, the Oculus SDK is now available for Mac OSX, along with a version of the Oculus Runtime and Unity Tuscany Demo for Mac. There’s no word on when Linux support will be ready.

Mac display drivers are unavailable, so users will need to use Extended Display mode on the Mac. To make full use of the software platform, eager developers will need to gain access to the Oculus Hardware Development Kit, which is a $350 online pre-order item.


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