Today at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the company’s official plans for VR from here on out were announced, with the surprise that they would be integrating SteamVR and supporting the Vive. Most PC gamers will likely be asking the question, “Will a Mac even run VR games well enough to be worthwhile?” And that is a valid question, considering Apple’s history of making computers that don’t necessarily meet PC gaming’s standards. Apple fans will be happy to know though, that with the announcements today also came the reveal of an external GPU that can be plugged into a Mac desktop or Macbook via Thunderbolt 3. The GPU enclosure will have an AMD Radeon RX 580, which is plenty for most VR games, and is currently being sold as a devkit for $600. Keep in mind though, that since this is a devkit, it will not work in the current version of Mac OS, and is only available in the beta version of High Sierra, with full support releasing sometime around Spring 2018.
This is fantastic news, not only for VR fans, but Mac fans who have wanted to get into PC gaming and anyone who wants to see PC gaming expand. VR developers wanting to support Mac OS will be happy to learn that as of today, the SteamVR beta already includes support for High Sierra, but it must be pointed out that to even purchase the enclosure you need to be a member of the Apple Developer Program.
Among this news, let’s not forget Oculus Co-Founder Palmer Luckey’s statement about VR on Macs from just over a year ago.
How are you seeing Apple’s announcement today? Is this good for VR, or will it fall flat? Let us know in the comments.
