Apple acquired NextVR, suggesting it still harbors VR ambitions

Enlarge / The HTC Vive Pro, a headset Apple supported with recent macOS releases. (credit: Kyle Orland)

Apple confirmed to Bloomberg that it has acquired NextVR, a company that primarily makes sports-related content and experiences for virtual reality. Southern California-based NextVR also holds dozens of patents that might be useful to Apple.

The acquisition was first rumored last month, but today marks the confirmation that it has taken place. A price was not disclosed, but reports last month claimed the acquisition was expected to come in at around $100 million. NextVR stopped operating as its own entity last week, today's Bloomberg report says, and the NextVR website is now just a simple landing page indicating that new things are coming at a later date.

NextVR has enjoyed content deals with sports leagues like the NBA and media outlets like Fox Sports for some time. It's possible that Apple acquired NextVR to produce similar content, but it might be just as likely that one or more of NextVR's patents are what interests Cupertino. For example, 9to5Mac noted last month that NextVR holds patents for upscaling video streams, presumably in ways that suit mixed reality.

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