Report: Apple acquires mixed reality hardware firm Vrvana for $30 million

Apple has reportedly acquired mixed reality hardware developer Vrvana for $30 million to aid in developing its own AR headset.

As reported by TechCrunch, a number of employees from the company have joined Apple in California. Vrvana has also been inactive on social media since August 2017.

The firm's main piece of technology is the unreleased Totem hardware. It is a virtual reality headset that can transition between VR and AR using cameras installed on the front of the device.

Pressing forward

One issue this technology faces is the lag between capturing the world on camera, and displaying it to the user. Vrvana has apparently managed to reduce this level of lag to 3 milliseconds.

Earlier in November 2017, it was rumoured that Apple is working on its own AR headset to be released in 2020. The company is said to be aiming to use the technology internally by 2019.

Apple has already made steps into AR with the launch of its ARKit framework in iOS 11. ARKit works using the camera of an iPhone or iPad and displaying digital images in the real world.