Apple's recent acquisition of the Zurich-based motion capture company Faceshift has sparked speculation claiming that the tech giant is finally entering the virtual reality market.
Rumors regarding Apple's acquisition of Faceshift has been going on since the start of the year. However, the Cupertino-based company has kept its silence about it and only released the customer acquisition statement, "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."
Within the past couple of years, the virtual reality market has grown from relative obscurity into one of the most sought after technology. Tech giants like Google, Samsung, Facebook and Microsoft has all thrown their hats into the ring in an attempt to get ahead of the others.
Apple's absence in the virtual reality foray has been noted by several tech analysts. Some are speculating that Apple is developing virtual reality tech under the radar while some claims that Apple's absence in scene means that the company has no real market on it since virtual reality market is still considered in its infancy.
According to Nasdaq, Faceshift's technologies are used in enterprise security application such as facial recognition. This type of security protocol is something that might have attracted Apple's attention since the company is also in the process of upgrading its security measures.
Aside from the recent Faceshift acquisition, Apple has already acquired a handful of startup companies that dabbles in motion capture technology. According to BGR, companies like Polar Rose, Metaioa and PrimeSense are currently working under Apple's banner.