Will we ever be able to have Apple-designed virtual reality adventures using our iPhones?

The tech giant's approach to VR has been cautious and quiet compared to peers like Google and Samsung, which are diving headlong into the development of practical consumer platforms. But that doesn't mean Apple isn't contemplating how it might someday dominate the space when the time is right.

The company today was granted a new patent for a remote controlled head-mounted display system to house an iPhone. The language of the patent never explicitly mentions VR as the main function for the setup, but there's no other use we can imagine that would require you to glue your phone that close to your face.

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Rather than just clipping the iPhone into the housing like some basic VR units do today, the patent describes a truly connected platform. The iPhone would be be integrated into the headgear via its port or some other connection method so the two separate devices could function better together.

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The iPhone would connect direct  to the headgear.Credit: USPto

Once the iPhone is housed in the VR unit, the design proposes it would be controlled via remote control (which looks more than a bit like the classic iPod Click Wheel in the drawing) or even touch panels on the side of the headgear.

Credit: USPTO

Since this is just a patent, there's no timeline for the release or even development of an Apple VR set. This isn't the first time we've seen something like this from the company, either -- this design is part of a continuation of another patent from 2010, and another version of a head-mounted display surfaced after being rejected by the USPTO in 2014.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is on record about his qualms with VR. He thinks it "closes the world out" to its users, and instead believes augmented reality (AR) could be the next big experiential tech, calling it a "big idea like the smartphone. Notably, one of the biggest rumors about upcoming iPhone 8 is about a new camera and sensor system, which could possibly be harnessed for AR functions.

Make no mistake, though -- if VR platforms continue to develop and gain popularity and Apple finds itself in the position to capitalize on a head-mounted rig, there's a good chance you'll be reading about a brand new Apple VR experience shortly after, no matter what Tim Cook says.

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