Apple’s hiring of a former Microsoft employee is fueling rumors that the company is working on an augmented reality interface, Street Insider reports.
In a note to clients, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said, “Based on recent acquisitions of augmented reality companies, hiring of a key Microsoft Hololens employee, and conversations with industry contacts within the virtual and augmented reality spaces, we believe Apple has a team exploring the AR space.” According to 9to5Mac, that former employee of Microsoft’s Hololens team is Nick Thompson, whose LinkedIn profile shows he moved to Apple in July.
The report comes on the heels of Apple’s acquisition of augmented reality company Metaio in May, and plans to integrate augmented reality features into Apple Maps.