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| Tim Cook promotes augmented reality technology from Apple |
Tim Cook talked about Apple's work on augmented reality, or augmented reality products, in an interview with the state-run China Daily, urging augmented reality fans to wait and see what the company has to offer.
He interprets this as a direct indication that the company has been working on a headset that has been rumored for years, unless he thinks people might be excited about using ARKit apps on their phones.
The interviewer asked Cook what he thinks is the key to the success of augmented reality products. Cook replied that he couldn't be more excited about the possibilities of augmented reality, even though it's still in its infancy.
In the interview, Cook highlighted the number of apps in the App Store that use ARkit and said that we have 14,000 ARKit apps that provide augmented reality experiences to millions of consumers around the world.
Cook has spoken about augmented reality several times during his tenure as Apple's CEO, even saying he's a fan of the technology.
He also agreed that augmented reality is a very important part of Apple's future. When the company announced its AR API, Craig Federighi said the technology represented a radical change.
Although these comments clearly show that Apple is working in this area. But he made no promises that the company might offer augmented reality devices.
There have been rumors for years that the company is working on an augmented reality headset, that is, a headset that combines augmented and virtual reality.
The device is currently a standalone unit with an integrated computer running the headset. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the headphone chip could be as powerful as the Mac chip.
Tim Cook is becoming less wary of Apple's augmented reality glasses
This week, analyst Jeff Bowe released a report that Apple's augmented reality glasses are currently in the design development stage.
The analyst expects the product to be launched in the second half of 2024. There are rumors that the mixed reality headset could be launched later this year or early 2023.
Recent reports indicate that the helmet is almost ready. Work has been ramping up on its operating system, Reality OS, and the card has been hardware testing last month.
However, Cook's comments aren't necessarily positive evidence that Apple headphones are close. In March, the company announced that it would launch a Mac Pro with its own processor.
Many were convinced that meant we could see him at WWDC in June. But the keynote at the conference did not allow the company to showcase its latest equipment.