Is Apple about to take a step into a big, new virtual world?
The world's most valuable technology company has just acquired Metaio, a leading augmented and virtual reality firm.
The deal was uncovered by Techcrunch which has unearthed documents detailing a share transfer. When it approached Apple for comment, it would neither confirm nor deny but did admit that it "buys smaller technology companies from time to time."
The discovery is generating excitement because many of Metaio's products are focused on bringing an augmented view to smartphone sand tablets -- such as overlays on maps or virtual tours.
Apple recently patented a design for a portable virtual reality headset that uses a smartphone and this acquisition could be another step towards embracing the technology, which is expected to be mainstream by the decade's end.
