Apple

VR on Macs when Apple makes a 'good computer'

 

The Rift headset will be available on Mac machines when Apple releases a "good computer," said the founder of the Oculus virtual reality firm.

 

In an interview, Palmer Luckey said currently no single Apple computer met the minimum specifications for the Rift.

The problem lay in the fact that Apple did not prioritise powerful graphics hardware, he added.
By contrast, HTC said its headset would work with Apple machines at launch.

Questioned at a Microsoft Xbox press event, Mr Luckey said support for the Oculus Rift headset on Macs depended on the way Apple built its machines.

"If they ever release a good computer, we will do it," he said.

"It just boils down to the fact that Apple doesn't prioritise high-end GPUs," he told the Shack News site. The Rift, and other headsets, typically require the computer to which they are connected to possess a powerful graphics card or GPU. Buying or building a machine to support the Rift has been estimated to cost about £1,000 ($1,500).

Some research suggests that fewer than 1% of the world's PCs are running hardware that can support VR headsets.

"You can buy a $6,000 Mac Pro with the top-of-the-line AMD FirePro D700, and it still doesn't match our recommended specs," he said, adding that the company would "love" to support Mac machines.
Apple has not responded to Mr Luckey's criticism.

In May last year, Oculus "paused" development of support for Mac and Linux computers in favour of getting everything ready for machines running Windows.

Oculus's stance is at odds with HTC which has said that its Vive headset would work with Linux and Mac machines from "day one". However, a VR testing tool released by HTC partner Valve last week currently only works on Windows.

The Oculus Rift headset is scheduled for release on 28 March and the HTC Vive headset will start shipping soon after on 5 April