Apple building secret team to work on virtual reality: FT

[January 30, 2016]  (Reuters) - Apple Inc has assembled a large team of experts in virtual and augmented reality and built prototypes of headsets that could one day rival Facebook's Oculus Rift or Microsoft's Hololens, the Financial Times reported.

A secret research unit, housing hundreds of staff assembled from acquisitions or poached from other companies, is working on next-generation headset technologies, the FT reported, citing people familiar with the initiative. (http://on.ft.com/1PK0dUI)

The newspaper had previously reported the hiring of leading virtual reality researcher Doug Bowman by the iPhone maker. (http://on.ft.com/1SgnhuR)

Apple was not immediately available to comment.

(Reporting by Alan John Koshy in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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