HTC Vive App Lets iPhone Users Get Notifications in Virtual Reality

VR is going to be so great in a few years. Lower barriers to entry, killer apps, better software. Exciting times ahead.

Good to see this from HTC. Also supported AirPlay on their latest flagship phone.

The FPS thing is true—but oversimplified by many. It matters for some game types more than others, and "magic numbers" thrown out are somewhat arbitrary. A game where your body holds still is VERY different needs from a game in a vehicle vs (worst-case) a walking game. Likewise, the speed of the action, the need (or not) to turn suddenly, etc. all impact what kind of framerate is truly needed.

FPS does matter, but Macs CAN hold a terrific FPS. Even low-end Macs. It's the same as any game: you balance detail settings against FPS. So, a top-end PC can handle specific VR games and detail levels most if any Macs can't. But not every game needs that kind of detail to be fun. In fact, immersion in a cartoon or Tron-like world can be even more fun than a "sort of almost" uncanny-valley attempt at "realism," which is the best ANY PC can deliver. (For the record, I love bootcamping my Mac and trying the "realistic" VR experiences. But the other visual styles ARE fun too.)

So even your measly first-get MacBook can put out a steady framerate great for VR. Just not for every title. It's up to the game designer whether to target only the high end or not. (Which is applies to PCs too: most PCs cannot handle top-end detail.)

Again, that's why low-cost phone-based VR (when done right) works decently: GPU power is a piece of the puzzle, but it's simply not the the whole story.

Try Proton Pulse on iPhone with Google Cardboard. Then tell me you can't have fun with VR on a Mac :)

It is oversimplified, and you're right, low-end VR like what's been done with phone GPUs is fun to play around with. But when most people are talking about something being VR ready, they're talking about games and more advanced VR such as what we're seeing on the OR and Vive, and that's simply not going to happen with the current level of GPUs in any Apple product, or for the foreseeable future unless they start making performance a priority in some of their lineup.

When Apple takes graphics seriously enough to put something high-end enough in their machines.

This is the real answer. VR is very susceptible to framerate fluctuation, meaning that you need enough horsepower to maintain max FPS, or you run the risk of getting sick. Obviously this won't effect everyone equally, but at the end of the day, Apple is going to have to care about performance instead of thinness and make a move back to non-laptop parts in their desktop machines.