A short history of every time Apple CEO Tim Cook praised augmented reality
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple Inc., has had a lot to say about augmented reality, or AR. AR is technology that provides an enhanced view of the real world by overlaying digital objects on top of it. This could range from an app user interface, to maps and more. Given its explosive growth in recent years, Tim Cook has weighed in on the potential benefits of AR.
In his opinion, AR can significantly reduce the distraction people experience in their everyday lives by allowing them to interact with their environment without looking away from what’s happening around them. He sees this as offering several benefits for users, such as enhanced safety and productivity by allowing people to multitask more effectively or access digital information hands-free. Additionally, he believes that users should be able to interact with digital elements as naturally and intuitively as they do with physical ones and be able to interact with them without disrupting their natural workflow or environment. AR can facilitate this by providing seamless integration without requiring users to adjust their behaviour when using mobile technology for day-to-day tasks. Simply put, Tim Cook sees augmented reality as a tool that will revolutionise how we experience our surroundings within technology-filled environments.
Tim Cook’s Early Praise for Augmented Reality
Apple CEO Tim Cook has been vocal in his appreciation of Augmented Reality (AR). Since 2014, he has made numerous comments about the exciting potential of AR.
This article tracks all of these early comments and looks at what each statement meant for the future of AR.
2013: Tim Cook Speaks Positively of Augmented Reality
As far back as 2013, Apple CEO Tim Cook has voiced his enthusiasm for augmented reality technology. In particular he had been singling out the potential such a product holds in the gaming realm and entertainment. In an interview with AllThingsD, Cook called augmented reality “really cool” and interesting.
Leslie Katz of AllThingsD asked Tim Cook if he thinks virtual and augmented reality will be important components of future Apple products. Cook responded positively, noting that such developments will be “really big” for gaming and entertainment. He went on to talk about the immersive advantages that cheaper technologies like VR headsets can become commonplace in people’s homes.
In addition to emphasising AR/VR technology from a gaming perspective, Tim Cook further praised its potential uses outside of entertainment: “People want to augment their experience in educational settings and business settings and other things…The field of view, the quality of the display itself, it’s incredible what is on the horizon…it has some interesting applications.” Ultimately, these statements indicate a long-term vision shared by August Reality that considers both near-term possibilities like gaming, but extends beyond those scope into whole new fields.
2014: Tim Cook Talks about the Potential of Augmented Reality
In late 2014, Apple CEO Tim Cook made waves in technology by expressing enthusiasm for augmented reality (AR). “I think AR is that big, it’s huge. I get excited because of the things that could be done to improve many lives and be entertaining,” Cook said.
Cook’s speech came at a time when augmented reality was still in its infancy and virtual reality (VR) was attracting far more attention from tech companies and consumers alike. Although Cook did not go into details about how Apple would utilise AR moving forward, he was clear about his belief that it had enormous potential to revolutionise the technology industry.
At the time, there were few practical applications for AR; most use cases involved entertainment or video gaming. However, Cook seemed confident that Apple would eventually implement AR into its products. During his talk, he cited access to knowledge in education and health care as potential areas of exploration for Apple’s development team: “You can imagine many things you would want to overlay on what you’re currently seeing so you can understand better,” he stated.
Today, Cook’s initial remarks seem prophetic; Apple continues investing heavily into virtual and augmented reality research. Moreover, with their latest iPhones featuring new hardware suited specifically for AR applications — like improved sensors and cameras — it seems likely that individuals will soon see augmented reality enter their everyday lives like never before.
2015: Tim Cook Discusses Augmented Reality
In a 2015 interview with The Independent, Apple chief executive Tim Cook expressed his enthusiasm for augmented reality technologies and predicted that the technology could revolutionise how people interact with their devices. However, this was two years before the first Apple ARKit apps were released.
Cook discussed his passion for AR: “I’m excited about augmented reality because unlike virtual reality which closes the world out, AR allows individuals to be present in the world but hopefully allows an improvement on what’s happening presently. Most people don’t want to lock themselves out from the world for a long period and today you can’t do that because you get sick from it. With augmented reality you can not be engrossed in something, but have it be a part of your world, your conversation. That has resonance.”
Cook further elaborated on the possibilities he saw in AR saying “I think there are great things for customers and a great commercial opportunity…The commercial opportunity is huge… there are so many areas where it will be very handy or visuals have been complicated or hard to convey… So we kind of see it as being a core technology…It will be huge.” At this early stage in AR’s development Cook’s positioning helped propel widespread interest and investment in industry development within Silicon Valley and beyond.
Tim Cook’s Investment in Augmented Reality
Tim Cook is an avid supporter of Augmented Reality (AR) technology. From the early days of his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Cook has been an advocate for AR and its potential applications.
In this article, we’ll explore some notable moments when Cook praised AR technology and the investments Apple has made in the field.
2016: Tim Cook Invests in Augmented Reality
In 2016, Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly voiced his support for the emerging augmented reality (AR) technology. During a quarterly earnings call, he declared his belief that AR had the potential to transform daily life and eclipsed virtual reality as the new wave of gaming technology. Among other possible applications, he highlighted features such as providing training material to factory workers through 3D animations and collaborating with classmates in virtual classrooms.
The following year, Apple began developing its player in the AR space. First, they introduced ARkit with iOS11, enabling developers to add augmented reality features into their applications with relative ease. The platform quickly gained traction among creators eager to leverage Apple’s powerful AR engine. Shortly after launching this new technology at WWDC 2017, Apple acquired Metaio, a German start-up developing 3D mapping software for interactive digital overlays on real-world environments.
Around this time, Tim Cook also revealed that Apple had invested considerable resources into researching potential optical solutions for a future pair of glasses. Industry speculation was then rife about whether or not we would see an eventual product from this effort until mid-2018 when it emerged that development had been halted due to difficulties encountered during testing phases.
Today, augmented reality remains a steady feature in many of our devices and continues to be used increasingly within both personal and business scenarios, demonstrating how valuable investments such as what Tim Cook made can be when used effectively by tech giants like Apple.
2017: Tim Cook Doubles Down on Augmented Reality
In 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook put his money where his mouth is and began to make sizable investments in augmented reality (AR). Cook has been outspoken on the potential of AR technology since conversations began in 2014, and has repeatedly stressed the importance of AR development within Apple’s product portfolio.
In an earnings report in August 2017, Cook revealed that Apple had made some major investments in an unnamed AR company, which was later revealed to be Vrvana, a Canadian start-up focused on advanced motion tracking technology. This opportunity to acquire its Tesla-style “infrared camera array” marked a key point for the company as augmented reality development moved into a new era.
Cook was also a part of the C round of funding for Meta View which specialises in transforming digital data into 3D holographic images. It builds tools that allow customers to monitor cyber-physical systems and devices on large electronics walls and heads up displays at distances greater than 30 inches.
He made these investments as part of Apple’s increasing commitment to developing technology within the augmented reality space. This financial commitment followed just months after his initially vocal efforts, during which he offered insight intoApple’s broader strategy towards this burgeoning technology market. He believes it could fundamentally change how people interact with one another and their environment – ultimately playing a role similar to what OS X did two decades ago when it transformed user experience on computers worldwide.
