Apple CEO Tim Cook Teases AR/VR Headset and More in New Interview

[MacRumors]

Apple CEO Tim Cook has seemingly teased the company's upcoming mixed-reality headset in an extensive interview with GQ.

Cook features on the cover of GQ's Global Creativity Awards 2023 issue. The interview with GQ's Zach Baron, titled "Tim Cook Thinks Different," delves into multiple aspects of Cook's career, premiership, and personal life. Explaining why Apple may, hypothetically, be interested in AR/VR hardware, Cook said:

If you think about the technology itself with augmented reality, just to take one side of the AR/VR piece, the idea that you could overlay the physical world with things from the digital world could greatly enhance people's communication, people's connection. It could empower people to achieve things they couldn't achieve before. We might be able to collaborate on something much easier if we were sitting here brainstorming about it and all of a sudden we could pull up something digitally and both see it and begin to collaborate on it and create with it. And so it's the idea that there is this environment that may be even better than just the real world—to overlay the virtual world on top of it might be an even better world. And so this is exciting. If it could accelerate creativity, if it could just help you do things that you do all day long and you didn’t really think about doing them in a different way.

Cook went on to suggest that measuring physical objects and placing digital art on walls are just the start of the potential use-cases for AR, seemingly implying that there are far greater possibilities. Baron then raised the fact that in 2015 Cook told The New Yorker that he was highly skeptical of Apple manufacturing smart glasses, similar to Google Glass, as an early AR product. At the time, Cook said:

We always thought that glasses were not a smart move, from a point of view that people would not really want to wear them. They were intrusive, instead of pushing technology to the background, as we've always believed. We always thought it would flop, and, you know, so far it has.

Now, Cook admitted that he is willing to say that he was wrong:

My thinking always evolves. Steve taught me well: never to get married to your convictions of yesterday. To always, if presented with something new that says you were wrong, admit it and go forward instead of continuing to hunker down and say why you're right.

Baron then asked Cook if the fact that neither Google Glass nor Meta's Quest headsets have made considerable impact among consumers would make him skeptical of Apple offering a product in the AR/VR space. Cook responded that Apple has a history of succeeding in areas where people have doubted it:

Pretty much everything we've ever done, there were loads of skeptics with it. If you do something that's on the edge, it will always have skeptics. [...] Can we make a significant contribution, in some kind of way, something that other people are not doing? Can we own the primary technology? I'm not interested in putting together pieces of somebody else's stuff. Because we want to control the primary technology. Because we know that's how you innovate.

Read the full interview for more information about Cook's thoughts on leadership, his public image, comparing himself with Steve Jobs, working at Apple Park, his pay, and more.

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook Teases AR/VR Headset and More in New Interview

 

[gonsawa_]

The headset is really coming.

 

[vertsix]

I think he's trying to convince *us* more than anything that we should buy it. If he has to do this before an unveiling, this is concerning. Steve didn't do this with the iPhone.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Can the headset get announced already so I can make fun of it for being $3000 with no games?

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Yep, it's coming, and they are going to roast Meta over it too. YES!!!

I think he's trying to convince *us* more than anything that we should buy it. If he has to do this before an unveiling, this is concerning. Steve didn't do this with the iPhone.

Steve didn't, but the unveiling was a hard sell for people to buy it. *shrug*

 

[Realityck]

It looks like confirmation the headset product is getting closer. Like Sundays Mark Grumman article talked it up.

Apple Is Just Two Months Away From Debuting Its First Reality Headset

Apple sets a date for WWDC 2023, where it plans to introduce its highly anticipated mixed-reality headset. Also: Spotify has no timeline to support AirPlay 2 and pushes back on complaints about not working with the HomePod. Meanwhile, Apple Pay Later starts rolling out, and the company releases...

www.bloomberg.com

From the interview
I ask Cook if the fact that neither Google Glass nor, more recently, Meta’s Quest have made much of a dent in the marketplace might make him wary of attempting to try to manufacture something in that same space. He pauses, and then steers the conversation back to Apple’s own history of success in areas where people might have doubted its chances. “Pretty much everything we’ve ever done, there were loads of skeptics with it,” Cook says. “If you do something that’s on the edge, it will always have skeptics.” Cook says when Apple decides to enter a market, he asks himself the following questions: “Can we make a significant contribution, in some kind of way, something that other people are not doing? Can we own the primary technology? I’m not interested in putting together pieces of somebody else’s stuff. Because we want to control the primary technology. Because we know that’s how you innovate.”

 

[BootsWalking]

Cook is a visionary...for stamping millions of widgets in low-wage foreign countries.

 

[Costino1]

I really think it'll be $2000 or so, but do MUCH more than the Oculus. I think it'll be more targeting to C-levels to buy for their businesses vs Consumer Joe since I don't believe this will be geared towards entertainment/gaming.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I think he's trying to convince *us* more than anything that we should buy it. If he has to do this before an unveiling, this is concerning. Steve didn't do this with the iPhone.

This is fairly standard. I can't find any articles in a quick search with Steve dropping hints ahead of time, but he did a major press tour immediately after announcement.

I don't think it's so bad. He's not saying much new. Apple thinks they can do it where others have failed, that seems to be his main message.

 

[citysnaps]

Encouraging that it will be glasses. That dovetails nicely with other information out there.

 

[JM]

Tim is looking at us suspiciously. He doesn’t trust that we’re really gonna buy this thing.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I really think it'll be $2000 or so, but do MUCH more than the Oculus. I think it'll be more targeting to C-levels to buy for their businesses vs Consumer Joe since I don't believe this will be geared towards entertainment/gaming.

At first yes probably, and this economic environment is not a great time to release it. But it has to come down and broaden out. He talks about two people collaborating on digital documents together, well that's $4k right there. Everyone has to have one for it to be truly useful.

 

[vegetassj4]

They gotta do something with all of those 14 Pluses that didn't sell:

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

I think he's trying to convince *us* more than anything that we should buy it. If he has to do this before an unveiling, this is concerning. Steve didn't do this with the iPhone.

Well, not necessarily in the same way, but there were plenty of very massive skeptics of the original iPhone, who let their opinions known very loudly.
Also, smart phones were already a multi-billion dollar market in 2007, the headset is not.
A better example would’ve been the iPad, because that product actually did get plenty of criticism on release that, according to his biography, Steve wasn’t happy about at all.

 

[75Batt]

I think he's trying to convince *us* more than anything that we should buy it. If he has to do this before an unveiling, this is concerning. Steve didn't do this with the iPhone.

Tim has ALWAYS given peaks at his vision and direction with previous products. Nothing unique about the headset. Tim is not Steve and times have changed.

 

[crsh1976]

I make exactly the same face as Tim in that picture when I hear about that fabled MR headset.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I really think it'll be $2000 or so, but do MUCH more than the Oculus. I think it'll be more targeting to C-levels to buy for their businesses vs Consumer Joe since I don't believe this will be geared towards entertainment/gaming.

Image quality wise it'll probably be better than the Quest Pro. But I doubt it'll be able to do more than the Quest Pro, because the Quest can do something Apple Reality most likely won't be able to: Be plugged into a PC.

Businesses (especially in STEM) need PCVR compatibility so they can access their CAD models on their PCs. Or they have a proprietary training program that's only on PCVR. A $2000 headset that cannot be used on PCVR and has jack for software to begin with is gonna be a very tough sell for businesses, especially since the Quest Pro already has a library of software, is $1000, and is getting Windows Azure and Active Directory support.

 

[JM]

I really think it'll be $2000 or so, but do MUCH more than the Oculus. I think it'll be more targeting to C-levels to buy for their businesses vs Consumer Joe since I don't believe this will be geared towards entertainment/gaming.

But you KNOW AppStore games is gonna be a big part the show…. And Memojis.

I would love for this to be marketed towards health professionals and businesses, too.

It too bad Mac isn’t better for the architecture field. It would be sick to go on site visits with the client to show them the design… and then walk through it.

Hey! Maybe Apple will partner with Autodesk at launch.

“Chyeah! And monkeys could fly out my butt!” - Wayne Cambell

 

[Zest28]

Can the headset get announced already so I can make fun of it for being $3000 with no games?

A friend of mine told me it will be amazing for a different kind of youtube.

 

[Halfsnap]

Apple CEO Tim Cook has seemingly teased the company's upcoming mixed-reality headset in an extensive interview with GQ.

Cook features on the cover of GQ's Global Creativity Awards 2023 issue. The interview with GQ's Zach Baron delves into multiple aspects of Cook's career, premiership, and personal life. Explaining why Apple may, hypothetically, be interested in AR/VR hardware, Cook said:

Cook went on to suggest that measuring physical objects and placing digital art on walls are just the start of the potential use-cases for AR, seemingly implying that there are far greater possibilities. Baron then raised the fact that in 2015 Cook told The New Yorker that he was highly skeptical of Apple manufacturing smart glasses, similar to Google Glass, as an early AR product. At the time, Cook said:

Now, Cook admitted that he is willing to say that he was wrong:

Baron then asked Cook if the fact that neither Google Glass nor Meta's Quest headsets have made considerable impact among consumers would make him skeptical of Apple offering a product in the AR/VR space. Cook responded that Apple has a history of succeeding in areas where people have doubted it:

Read the full interview for more information.

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook Teases AR/VR Headset and More in New Interview

When is he going to tease his retirement??

 

[citysnaps]

I think he's trying to convince *us* more than anything that we should buy it. If he has to do this before an unveiling, this is concerning. Steve didn't do this with the iPhone.

That wasn't my take away at all.

It was more about off the beaten path proprietary and well executed AR (glasses) with interesting and in-house apps will open up lots of opportunities that skeptics with stunted imaginations would never dream of.

Here's a small clue:
"Pretty much everything we've ever done, there were loads of skeptics with it. If you do something that's on the edge, it will always have skeptics. [...] Can we make a significant contribution, in some kind of way, something that other people are not doing? Can we own the primary technology? I'm not interested in putting together pieces of somebody else’s stuff. Because we want to control the primary technology. Because we know that's how you innovate."

Exciting times are ahead with Apple's device.

 

[Zest28]

Image quality wise it'll probably be better than the Quest Pro. But I doubt it'll be able to do more than the Quest Pro, because the Quest can do something Apple Reality most likely won't be able to: Be plugged into a PC.

Businesses (especially in STEM) need PCVR compatibility so they can access their CAD models on their PCs. Or they have a proprietary training program that's only on PCVR. A $2000 headset that cannot be used on PCVR and has jack for software to begin with is gonna be a very tough sell for businesses, especially since the Quest Pro already has a library of software, is $1000, and is getting Windows Azure and Active Directory support.

This is indeed very important. If this $3000 VR / AR set can only work with Mac and iOS devices, it is a joke.

And I'm afraid this will be the case.

 

[oofio2461]

let's see it for ourselves, then.

 

[citysnaps]

Tim has ALWAYS given peaks at his vision and direction with previous products. Nothing unique about the headset. Tim is not Steve and times have changed.

The "headset" will be very unique.

 

[bmark]

Tim Cook's interview is about as exciting as watching cars go down the street! *Yawn*