What the Mac really needs to handle VR
- jun
- 04
Can you run Oculus Rift or HTC Vive on the Mac? Not right now, but maybe one day.
The Mac has never been known for high-end gaming. It just doesn't seem to be a market Apple believes the company should compete in. That's likely why the Mac also isn't currently equipped to run high-end VR headsets like Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. That's now, though. What about the future?
Russell Holly, writing for our new sibling site, VRHeads.com:
While it's a little rough that Apple fans are going to need a complete hardware upgrade to be VR-ready, it's not the only hurdle. Oculus and HTC have to support Mac OS separately, and for Oculus that could mean fragmenting their store into Mac and non-Mac VR games. We've already seen Valve do this with non-VR games on their Steam platform, so it's likely the Steam VR-powered HTC Vive would have a similar experience. It's unlikely Mac owners with VR hardware would be able to play all of the games current VR owners can play at least at first, so it's an uphill battle on multiple fronts for Apple fans.
My guess is this — if next-generation Macs can support current generation VR, it'll be coincidental. Apple won't be targeting VR specifically, but if the Macs get newer, more powerful chipsets that happen to be able to handle VR, then great.
In the meantime, if you don't want to wait, you can enter the VRHead's give-away for a full-on gaming PC and HTC Vive right now!