Apple reportedly working on virtual reality headset

Apple has assembled a large team of virtual and augmented reality experts for a top secret project, reports the Financial Times. The team is said to be building prototypes of headsets that could one day compete against Oculus Rift or Microsoft’s Hololens.

Sources say the secret research unit is made up of hundreds of staff Apple has picked up in a series of carefully targeted acquisitions, as well poached employees from companies working on VR tech such as Microsoft and the darling camera start-up Lytro.

The company’s latest acquisition in the area is Flyby Media, an augmented reality start-up that lets mobile devices “see” the world around them. Flyby’s team worked closely with Google in developing software for its 3D positioning technology Project Tango.

Apple has been building prototypes of possible headset configurations for several months.

As of now, Apple has reportedly put together a variety of prototype headsets over the last few months, and work is still underway on improving them and the technology within them. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, on the company’s most recent earnings call, even confirmed his appreciation for VR, and said that it’s “really cool and has some interesting applications.”