It looks like Apple is about to get serious about virtual reality

Apple is hinting at its interest in developing apps for virtual reality experiences and hiring engineers to assist in the efforts. The evidence comes from a new job listing that Apple posted over the weekend seeking app engineers experienced with 3D graphics, virtual reality, and augmented reality. More specifically, Apple is looking for app developers to build user interfaces and “high performance apps that integrate with Virtual Reality systems for prototyping and user testing.” The job listing doesn’t provide many other details in terms of what exactly Apple is working on, but it sure sounds a lot like the company is interested in developing virtual reality and or augmented reality experiences of some kind. As for what “virtual reality systems” Apple is referring to, it’s unclear if the company has plans to integrate software with third-party hardware— like the growing number of iPhone accessories for VR experiences— or perhaps its own virtual reality hardware of sorts. Even more interesting is the fact that an Apple patent popped up last year showing what looks a lot like an Oculus Rift-style headset.