Apple's macOS update finally opens up VR, HTC Vive to Mac developers

With all the recent talk from Tim Cook about Apple's focus on augmented reality, it came as a bit of a surprise on Monday at WWDC when the company unveiled new support for virtual reality content creation. 

Along with the new High Sierra version of the macOS, Apple introduced Metal 2, the company's advanced graphics technology that will support VR rendering and external GPUs (Apple's new 27-inch iMac and iMac Pro will support VR right out of the box).

And this wasn't a mere "hat tip" to VR at the event, Apple actually gave a full demonstration of VR creation using a Mac live on stage. Led by John Knoll of Industrial Light and Magic, we got to see an HTC Vive user dive into a demo of a Star Wars experience (the title wasn't identified, but it appears to be ILMxLab immersive content the team has been working on) that was developed using the Unreal engine.  Read more...