Tim Cook, 60, predicts he won’t still be the CEO of Apple in 10 years, suggests the company will release augmented reality technology in 2021 and hints at its long-rumored autonomous car
- Tim Cook spoke with The New York Times to talk about everything Apple
- The CEO touched on augmented reality and how it could improve conversations
- Using the technology would add charts and other objects to the discussion
- Cook also mentioned Apple’s autonomous car, but decline to confirm the car
Apple has yet to make waves in augmented reality (AR), but a recent interview from CEO Tim Cook suggests tech giant is heading down the path with a focus to make conversations better.
Cook spoke with Kara Swisher for The New York Times Monday about Apple’s upcoming technologies, specifically AR and an autonomous car.
When it comes to AR, Cook said it is ‘critically important’ to Apple’s future and said it could be used to enhance conversations.
‘You and I are having a great conversation right now. Arguably, it could even be better if we were able to augment our discussion with charts or other things to appear,’ Cook said.
The CEO also discussed Apple’s long-rumored car highlighting how the tech giant loves ‘to integrate hardware, software, and services.’
However, Cook decline to answer Swisher’s question if the combination would be ‘in the form of a car of the technology within a car.’
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Apple has yet to make waves in augmented reality (AR), but a recent interview from CEO Tim Cook suggests tech giant is heading down the path with a focus to make conversations better. Cook spoke with Kara Swisher for The New York Times Monday
Along with talking about Apple, Cook also revealed that he does not see himself sitting on the Apple throne 10 years from now.
’10 more years, I probably not. But I can tell you that I feel great right now. And the date’s not in sight,’ he told Swisher.
‘But 10 more years is a long time and probably not 10 more years.’
Apple is reportedly working on an AR headset or glasses that could take the stage during the firm’s Worldwide Developers Conference June 7 – but the tech company has yet to confirm.
Apple is reportedly working on an AR headset or glasses that could take the stage during the firm’s Worldwide Developers Conference June 7 – but the tech company has yet to confirm. Pictured is the announcement shared by Apple for the event
But Cook’s statements suggests the technology could launch this year, which would position it against Facebook’s Oculus.
AR seemed to gain more interest amid the coronavirus pandemic that moved employees out of the office and into their homes for more than a year as of now.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg foresees the technology letting people work together, even if in different locations.
Zuckerberg has previously discussed AR with the idea that the technology will have to be made in a socially acceptable pair to thick-rimmed glasses, which may be hinting that Facebook is currently working on a device.
Microsoft (pictured) has also joined the race with the launch of its Microsoft Mesh last month, which is a mix-reality system that uses the firm’s HoloLens headset, enabling users in different locations to ‘beam’ themselves as a hologram into other experiences
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AR AND VR?
Virtual reality is a computer-generated simulation of an environment or situation
- It immerses the user by making them feel like they are in the simulated reality through images and sounds
- For example, in VR, you could feel like you’re climbing a mountain while you’re at home
In contrast, augmented reality layers computer-generated images on top of an existing reality
- AR is developed into apps to bring digital components into the real world
- For example, in the Pokemon Go app, the characters seem to appear in real world scenarios
Microsoft has also joined the race with the launch of its Microsoft Mesh last month, which is a mix-reality system that uses the firm’s HoloLens headset, enabling users in different locations to ‘beam’ themselves as a hologram into other experiences.
Users can ‘teleport’ into an office to sit in on a meeting or display 3D content in augmented reality that others can iterate in augmented reality.
So as other tech giants are developing AR technology, it may not be a surprise that Apple wants a piece of the action.
‘When I think about that in different fields, whether it’s health, whether it’s education, whether it’s gaming, whether it’s retail, 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,’ Cook told Swisher.
Along with rumored AR technology, Apple has long been said to be developing its own car – and one that is self-driving.
‘The autonomy itself is a core technology, in my view. If you sort of step back, the car, in a lot of ways, is a robot,’ said Cook.
‘An autonomous car is a robot. And so there’s lots of things you can do with autonomy. And we’ll see what Apple does. We investigate so many things internally. Many of them never see the light of day. I’m not saying that one will not.’
However, the CEO also said: ‘In terms of the work that we’re doing there, obviously, I’m going to be a little coy on that.’
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