Apple is reportedly working on a new gadget that will be designed to compete directly with Microsoft's HoloLens.
The HoloLens is an augmented-reality device that allows people to view images that are projected onto its lenses. The person currently wearing the HoloLens will then be able to see these virtual objects layered on top of their real world view. The HoloLens also has a look similar to that of a virtual reality headset.
The HoloLens could be used in numerous applications such as in education, particularly when it comes to careful demonstrations in specified fields, and it could also be something used inside the smart homes of the future.
On a more business-oriented point of view, the HoloLens is also being viewed as a new gadget that could help change the world of gaming, the New York Times reported.
If the technology proves sound, then the HoloLens could be the next big thing in electronics, and it looks to have prompted some of Microsoft's competitors to get in on the action as well.
One of Microsoft's biggest competitors, Apple, is reportedly working on their very own version of an augmented-reality device, according to a Business Insider report citing Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster.
If proven true, then the next augmented-reality device to come from Apple would be the first one the company has ever produced.
Munster points to reports over recent months as evidence that Apple is indeed working on their own version of the HoloLens. One report he mentioned is Apple's acquisition of the German startup known as Metaio. The startup is known for its work in the field of augmented-reality.
Munster also suggested that Apple's 2013 acquisition of PrimeSense, a company that works on cameras capable of detecting motion, as another indicator of their augmented-reality intentions. Apple's recent hiring of former Microsoft employee Nick Thompson, who worked in audio engineering, is also being seen as evidence of the company's intentions.
Apple has not confirmed that they are working on their own augmented-reality device.
