Taiwan's HTC says virtual reality headset will be compatible with Apple's new OS

Taiwanese consumer electronics maker HTC Corp on Tuesday said its virtual reality (VR) headset will be compatible with Apple Inc's High Sierra operating system (OS), which is scheduled for release later this year.

HTC's Vive headset works in conjunction with Valve's SteamVR virtual reality system, and Apple is working with Valve to make SteamVR compatible with its new OS, the US tech firm said in a separate statement on Monday.

Compatibility with Apple's Macintosh computers would greatly expand HTC's VR reach, having so far focused on personal computers such as ones powered by Microsoft Corp's Windows 10.

HTC has also worked in VR with Intel Corp and Alphabet Inc's Google.

"With this, Apple brings support for HTC Vive and SteamVR to the 100 million active Mac users," said David Dai, a senior analyst of Asian Emerging Technologies at researcher Sanford C. Bernstein. "That's certainly good for the company."

Apple used the Vive headset in a demonstration at the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, the first day of a five-day event, a HTC spokesperson told Reuters.