Apple CEO Tim Cook has teased the company’s plans to enter the augmented reality (AR) space in a media interview. Cook has a record of publicly expressing his immense interest in AR. However, the executive has this time explicitly told the public to “stay tuned” to see what Apple has to offer in the growing AR space. References from the rumour mill suggest that it could be an indication about the company’s AR glasses that are speculated to be called the Apple AR Glass.
As spotted by Twitter user @cesarberardini, Cook, 61, in his interview with China Daily USA, briefly talked about AR while answering what he thinks are the key factors for AR devices to succeed in the consumer market.
He responds by saying that the critical thing to consider for making AR successful is to put “humanity at the centre of it.”
“I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities we see in this space, and sort of stay tuned and you’ll see what we have to offer,” the executive says.
Cook also claims that Apple is already serving consumers with different AR experiences through over 14,000 apps available in the App Store that are developed using the company’s ARKit.
“I think despite that, we’re still in the very early innings of how this technology will evolve,” he notes.
In the past, Cook did suggest Apple’s plans towards AR. He had said back in 2017 that Apple had a big advantage in AR.
At the time, he didn’t dismiss the rumoured development of the AR glasses by the Cupertino company, though he had suggested that the device would take some time to reach the commercial stage.
“The display technology required, as well as putting enough stuff around your face — there’s huge challenges with that. The field of view, the quality of the display itself, it’s not there yet,” Cook had said.
In an interview with journalist Kara Swisher last year, Cook agreed to the importance of AR for Apple’s future.
“I’m already seeing AR take off in some of these areas with use of the phone. And I think the promise is even greater in the future,” he had said.
Cook also earlier this year talked about the expansion of Apple’s AR apps.
Nevertheless, a full-fledged device to support AR experiences without requiring an iPhone is still something that may take some time to reach the market.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and other prominent experts believe that the AR glasses by Apple would not debut anytime before 2024. However, some recent reports did suggest that before unveiling the AR glasses, Apple could bring its mixed reality headset to set the pitch for the more premium and sophisticated device and make developers ready for the futuristic hardware.