Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that augmented reality is a “critically important part” of the company’s future.
Cook acknowledged as much in a recent interview with Kara Swisher on the Sway podcast. While he declined to talk about Apple’s specific plans for the technology, he did talk a little bit about its promise.
“But in terms of AR, the promise of AR is that you and I are having a great conversation right now,” Cook began. “Arguably, it could even be better if we were able to augment our discussion with charts or other things to appear. And your audience would also benefit from this, too, I think. And so 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.”
Asked if AR was a “critically important part of Apple’s future”, Cook simply replied: “It is.”
Speculation about Apple’s work with both VR and AR has persisted for years now. A few months ago, we reported on rumors that the company is aiming to release a headset that is “mostly VR” in 2022, but could be very expensive. Later reports have estimated the device to cost anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000, while the company’s full AR glasses may not arriving until around 2025.
When do you think we’ll finally see Apple’s work in AR revealed? Let us know in the comments below!
