Apple buys Danish augmented reality start-up Spektral

Secretive Apple appears to have bought the company some time ago

Apple appears to have bought-up a Danish computing vision start-up called Spektral in a bid to augment its in-house augmented reality expertise - as it reportedly gears up to launch products by 2019.

Reports of the purchase come after increased indications that the company isn't just planning to get-in to the self-driving electric car market, but also planning a raft of new products, including augmented reality headsets.

Formally called CloudCutOut, the company Apple appears to have purchased specialised in software that can cut out figures from backgrounds in photos and videos.

As is often the case with Apple acquisitions, it looks like the company bought out Spektral some time ago, with reports only just coming to light now.

The company's co-founder, Toke Jansen, has been listed as ‘manager of computational imaging at Apple' on his LinkedIn profile since December 2017, but the news has only just come to light via Danish financial newspaper Børsen.

However, when questioned, Apple deployed its usual non-answer: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time," the company mused in a boilerplate response, "and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

This will be the latest in a string of augmented reality start-up acquisitions by Apple. In May 2015, it was reported that Apple had acquired Metaio, a company specialising in augemented reality software. And in August this year, the company confirmed the acquisition of Akonia Holographics.

Back in November last year, it was widely reported that the company was planning to introduce an augmented reality headset in 2019, with products reaching Apple's eager fans by early 2020.

However, augmented reality glasses and headsets have had a mixed reception. Google's Google Glass project was eventually canned, with the devices described as creepy. Virtual reality headsets, particularly from HTC and Facebook's Oculus subsidiary, proved more popular, but sales appear to have stalled.

Microsoft's ultra-expensive HoloLens, meanwhile, has barely dented the market - selling just thousands according to the Company's own commercial lead for EMEA, speaking to Computing at London's BETT show in 2017.

And in August, noted Apple watcher Ming-Chi Kuo, the TF International Securities analyst described as the "best Apple analyst on the planet" by the specialist CultofMac website, suggested that Apple is also working on an electric vehicle, to be launched by 2023.

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