Apple is looking for an engineer who can “strengthen its multi-view stereo research group,” a group attached to working on iOS. We don’t actually know what that means, beyond that Apple has plans for 3D somewhere. Heck, it could also be nothing more than a job hiring to do some basic research.
If you remember, Apple did hire several prominent wearable computing people a while back, and we’ve seen little to indicate that Apple plans on building such a thing. It could also be that Apple is looking for more patents to use as weapons–Apple has historically tried to patent every idea that crosses an employee’s head, even if there is prior art.
But I don’t think so. I believe this is an actual position at the company, a push to get ahead of 3D technology before consumers stop hating it. After all, when the technology becomes robust enough, it won’t hurt your eyes, it won’t make you motion sick, it won’t look fake. When 3D displays look as good as reality, we will see consumers flock to the technology. And any company who hasn’t endeavored to be ready for the transition will be left behind.
But that still leaves many possibilities for what Apple wants to do with the tech. In the short term, they might be looking for a 3d Apple TV. After all, that is where 3D is biggest right now. the company is probably not working on a 3D iPhone, but it might be working on the interface for one, which would need prototype hardware. It could be that Apple needs 3D expertise for its future iTV, long rumored to launch soon.
Regardless, Apple is looking for someone in the Santa Clara area with knowledge and skill about computer vision, math, physics and computer science to help do whatever it is that Apple does in their labs.