Tim Cook Says Augmented Reality is 'Larger' Than Virtual Reality

[elmaco]

Tim is right. Augmented reality will be a trillion dollar market.

If I was in control of Apple, I would put huge resources into building the first augmented reality glasses that really works. They need to look good, have a battery capacity for at least 24 hours and have a form factor so people will not mind wearing them all day.

If Apple can get a head start of 2-3 years compared to competitors, they could make hundres billions of dollars. Augmented reality will be the next platform, like the world wide web or smart phones. These technology shifts only occur once every decade. Virtual reality is pretty useless in a comparison, like what you have on screen on the computer today, i.e. a 3D game, but more immersive. People want to deal with real people, not avatars. That's why Facebook was a success, people used their real names, instead made up ones like many forums and social networks before that.

Augmented reality will add capabilities that we will not be able to live without in a few years, such as

- Automatic subtitles, when somebody speaks a language you don't understand
- Improved vision, see much further with zoom or in infrared when it is dark
- Eye camera, take photos/videos hands free and as you experience the world.
- Face recognition, see a person's name or detect people you know (or celebrities) automatically in the street.
- Teleprompter when you are going to do a presentation
- Product information when you look at something in a store, i.e. if the price is competitive, reviews, calorie count etc.
- PIN codes and passwords that popup automatically so you don't need to remember them
- Travel information, when does the next bus/train leave?
- Live broadcasting, send what you see and get comments from buddies right away. Have a wingman with you at all times.
- See e-mail, SMS, reminders etc. without bringing up your phone.
- Sports coaching, get instruction like you have personal trainer or a caddy. See how the snooker shot will be. See your heart rate when you run.
etc.

Hololens, Magic Leap and Meta are all doing it wrong. The first iteration of AR doesn't even have to be 3D or color, but the glasses must be really slick and the battery must last at least one day, or people will never wear them. And of course, software to make the ordinary day simpler and more fun.

 

[-BigMac-]

Imagine the applause here if Apple included the airpods which their ceo calls "the future we all should go for" without raising the price again.

Wouldnt be any applause, just haters whining they are 'forced' to use wireless. Wahhh 5 hours battery. Wahhh android is open and supports me as a user with choices. Wahhhh

 

[drolson]

Apple CEO Tim Cook continued his New York City tour this week with a wide-ranging Good Morning America interview about the iPhone 7, AirPods, virtual reality, and other topics. A teaser of the interview was first shared yesterday.

​

On the subject of virtual reality, Cook said that augmented reality is actually the "larger of the two," because it allows people to "be very present" while using the technology. Cook added that "less people would be interested" in virtual reality, but that the technology has interesting use cases for education and gaming.When questioned about the iPhone 7's lack of a headphone jack, Cook touted wireless as the future and said the plug's removal provides space for other features like a larger battery and stereo speakers:Addressing potential concerns about AirPods falling out or being misplaced, Cook said their charging case is a "great place" to keep them and added that he has "never personally had one fall out" thanks to the wireless design.

During his trip to New York this week, Cook has also visited P.S. 161 The Crown School in Brooklyn and Apple's new World Trade Center store in Manhattan. Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts, services chief Eddy Cue, and marketing executive Greg Joswiak were also on hand for the store visit.

Article Link: Tim Cook Says Augmented Reality is 'Larger' Than Virtual Reality

 

[Tycho24]

Tim is right. Augmented reality will be a trillion dollar market.

If I was in control of Apple, I would put huge resources into building the first augmented reality glasses that really works. They need to look good, have a battery capacity for at least 24 hours and have a form factor so people will not mind wearing them all day.

If Apple can get a head start of 2-3 years compared to competitors, they could make hundres billions of dollars. Augmented reality will be the next platform, like the world wide web or smart phones. Virtual reality is pretty useless in a comparison, like what you have on screen on the computer today, i.e. a 3D game, but more immersive.

Augmented reality on the other hand will add capabilities that we will not be able to live without in a few years, such as

- Automatic subtitles, when somebody speaks a language you don't understand
- Improved vision, see much further with zoom or in infrared when it is dark
- Eye camera, take photos/videos hands free and as you experience the world.
- Face recognition, see a person's name or detect people you know (or celebrities) automatically in the street.
- Teleprompter when you are going to do a presentation
- Product information when you look at something in a store, i.e. if the price is competitive, reviews, calorie count etc.
- PIN codes and passwords that popup automatically so you don't need to remember them
- Travel information, when does the next bus/train leave?
- Live broadcasting, send what you see and get comments from buddies right away. Have a wingman with you at all times.
- See e-mail, SMS, reminders etc. without bringing up your phone.
- Sports coaching, get instruction like you have personal trainer or a caddy. See how the snooker shot will be. See your heart rate etc.
etc.

Hololens, Magic Leap and Meta are all doing it wrong. The first iteration of AR doesn't even have to be 3D or color, but the glasses must be really slick and the battery must last at least one day, or people will never wear them. And of course software, to make the ordinary day simpler and more fun.

I really like your ideas...! EXCEPT for the "glasses" part. Yuck. Creepy.
Google tried that. It's really terrible, from a privacy aspect.
However; what's wrong with AR while looking at your iPhone screen?
MUCH more appropriate!
I'd like to be aware of it if someone is using AR on me or my loved ones.

Examples: is that guy that glanced my way at the park while I'm playing with my daughters actually scouring the internet for photos of them w/ any information that could help him figure out where we live & where they go to school?
Is that guy that just glanced down the bar, comparing three women's Instagram pics to see which one gets piss drunk more often and is an "easier target"?
Is that guy that "accidentally" dropped a quarter streaming to his upskirt pornography website?

Sorry. NOT ok with me.
What if you went to the mall tomorrow and there were fifty people throughout the mall that pointed at you a video camera that was attached to a laptop? Would you let them record you? If you asked them if they were recording you & they said "no"; would you believe that stranger's word & no longer be creeped out?

I think if there's one thing we can be CERTAIN of- it's that Apple, who have been the champion of our privacy will not attempt to bring to market something with these kinds of implications...
AR is a tricky devil! I think it will be a hard nut to crack; but, with all the amazing ideas you listed (and thousands more possibilities!), it will be worth the wait to see Apple's implementation.

 

[drolson]

tim cook likes Augmented reality because he can make more money from it, then he will get it made in ireland so he don't have to pay taxes on it, soon after that he will make a new machine that you can't run your old software on so you have to buy a new one, this is what apple does with everything, that's why the have 215 billion dollars in the bank in europe and they don't want to pay their 14.5 billion in taxes europe says owe

 

[Keirasplace]

Basically, yes. It actually makes me think of Ghost in the Shell, especially towards the end with the person who was using some sort of AR jammer (think "Laughing Man" arc). Despite the glitzy propoganda that companies like Apple and Google would have you believe, this is probably a far more accurate depiction of AR.

That looks like a version of hell... Like being caught in a japanese Pachenco arcade all day long...

An Interface that requires arms to be in view is dumbass and I can only imagine how dumb (and tired) we'll all look 100% of the time when this occurs.

Using eye position & focus, fingers to make choice and voice for me would be better.

 

[elmaco]

AR is a tricky devil! I think it will be a hard nut to crack; but, with all the amazing ideas you listed (and thousands more possibilities!), it will be worth the wait to see Apple's implementation.

I agree that privacy is a concern, but I don't think we can prevent technological progress. If Apple doesn't do it, someone else will within a couple years. I actually think Apple has the infrastructure to make a good thing of it, since all applications must be downloaded using their app store. They could put in restrictions on what kind of software that are allowed to run on their hardware.

I think Google Glass is the best augmented reality product we have seen so far, but it seems like they have stopped investing in it. Google is making the same misstake as Microsoft did with PDAs. MS could have owned the smart phone market today. They were so far ahead of everybody in 2003, but they made three mistakes:

1) They stopped investing in their platform, i.e Pocket Internet Explorer could not render new web pages properly
2) They didn't make the developer tools and OS free to app developers and manufactures
3) They didn't make an app store from which they could make money.

And PDA manufactures put in physical keyboards instead of GPRS and phone capabilities. What were they thinking??This was the reason Apple was able to come in 2007 and give people what they wanted all along.

The same opportunity is now available again. Augmented reality is going be huge, and Google seem to have given up. Their product was not slick enough and they didn't have a good overlay. They also restricted the market, you were only allowed to buy it in US and it was not available in any stores.

 

[Robstevo]

AR Is clearly the bigger market if we are talking about what microsoft is doing with their holo lens. That thing could replace the television Industry in 5 years time if they nail it.and the phone market, and many other markets.

 

[pat500000]

I wish I had a copy of VR of Tim Cook so that I can constantly work on my uppercut on him.

 

[CarlJ]

And he was never asked about the state of the Mac!? This is why journalism is dead /s

Reporter: "Mr. Cook, lots of folks are saying Mac hardware is out of date."
Cook: (smiles knowingly) "Stay tuned."
This would have been the exchange. Are you angry that you didn't get to actually hear Tim Cook say, "stay tuned"? There will be an event next month, there will be new Macs then (no promises that they'll satisfy everyone). Tim is very good about not giving away secrets, but the tea leaves are pretty easy to read (the 1-2 punch of fall events from Apple has a long history).

 

[Valmont11]

If two people are sitting and talking with each other as well as another person who is made to appear as if he is there then these two people have their reality augmented, indeed.

But if the third person was himself to have a visual experience then this experience would most likely be a virtual reality experience. He would most likely see the environment of the 2 people talking to him.

 

[shareef777]

Reporter: "Mr. Cook, lots of folks are saying Mac hardware is out of date."
Cook: (smiles knowingly) "Stay tuned."
This would have been the exchange. Are you angry that you didn't get to actually hear Tim Cook say, "stay tuned"? There will be an event next month, there will be new Macs then (no promises that they'll satisfy everyone). Tim is very good about not giving away secrets, but the tea leaves are pretty easy to read (the 1-2 punch of fall events from Apple has a long history).

Then what's the point of the interview? Does anyone on this planet expect him to say, yeah, we screwed up on any subject? At that point it's just a mock ad. I expect (regardless of the topic) an interviewer to press them on topics/subjects that the company is NOT doing well on or providing details of, not let the interviewee control the conversation. Suppose I was only being half sarcastic when I said that journalism is dead.

 

[mhuggett]

First, they charge 3/4 of what you're saying, which is half of what competing products cost. If you don't see it as a bargain you need to do some research.

http://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/MMEF2C/A/airpods suppose I should clarify in Canada... In terms of bargain, once the reviews come in on audio performance it may be a bargain, or another gen1 that we just have to wait to mature. Either way, neither point speaks to the actual issue; a vision of a wireless world should not include a wired accessory when an alternative is manufactured.

 

[MH01]

I feel like saying Pokemon GO is AR is a stretch... when I think of AR I think of what I described. In Pokemon GO, it doesn't actually need to process the image data. It just renders a pokemon standing upright, vertically centered, with the horizontal position based on your compass (if you have the camera background turned on. Turn that off and it just renders in the center, period.) It doesn't recognize pokestops or anything based on image data - it just uses your GPS coordinates.

Saying that Pokemon GO is AR is kind of like saying Apple Maps is AR... all it's really doing is using your GPS and Compass plus a database of static landmarks around you.

The definition is "a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPSdata "

In which case Pokemon fits the bill. Feel free to disagree, but according to the definition in my opinion pokemon is a AR game, and a very successful one.

 

[ErikGrim]

VR is "fun", but outside of a very few narrow niches, it will never be more than a sideshow attraction. Even for games it is awkward for longer periods of time, compounded by the fact that you are isolating yourself and you can't really move. Motion sickness is also a real issue no one really talks about.

 

[iPadCary]

How quickly people forget the huge VR team Apple's put together,
headed by what's said to be the world's foremost expert in virtual reality.

But if Apple does forego VR and decides to persue AR,
I hope it'll be a standalone device and not a "GoogleGlass" thing you plug into an iPhone.

 

[Tycho24]

JESUS CHRIST IT WAS JUST A JOKE. I KNOW HOW IT WORKS IVE BEEN FOLLOWING SINCE THE RELEASE THANK YOU

everyone so quick to strike others down on here lately...

Irony with a healthy dose of hypocrisy:
Bagging on someone in a forum, then acting all huffy & offended when someone bags on you.

 

[stanman64]

Irony with a healthy dose of hypocrisy:
Bagging on someone in a forum, then acting all huffy & offended when someone bags on you.

I'm not huffy or offended, it's a forum after all. Caps were just for emphasis and to get a point across. But I see what you mean...

 

[ErikGrim]

Right on cue:

http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/remember-virtual-reality-we-were-such-dorks-back-then-1786619222

 

[TheFluffyDuck]

Of course Tim would say Augmented reality is "larger" than virtual reality. You don't need to spend money on better hardware and compromise your profit margin with augmented reality. Virtual reality takes RAW POWER, not the Fisher Price integrated graphics they have been passing off as PRO recently.

I have used Augmented reality and Virtual reality. Augmented reality is a Gimmick I turn OFF. Virtuality Reality is revolutionary.

 

[amegicfox]

timmy has been talking about a fantasy world since steve died
all while he hasn't been able to update the mac line in years

the only new product has been a macbook that is slower then all the other models,
has one port and less battery life

timmy has no clue and the sad part is that the board will never fire him

he not only doesn't understand technology, but also design
and what the customers really want

 

[CarlJ]

Of course Tim would say Augmented reality is "larger" than virtual reality. You don't need to spend money on better hardware and compromise your profit margin with augmented reality. Virtual reality takes RAW POWER, not the Fisher Price integrated graphics they have been passing off as PRO recently.

I have used Augmented reality and Virtual reality. Augmented reality is a Gimmick I turn OFF. Virtuality Reality is revolutionary.

Augmented reality is the long game. Virtual reality is self-contained, it's 3D graphics and some motion sensors, and it's largely doable now (I've used a an Oculus Rift, it's really quite compelling). Augmented reality, layering graphics over reality is much more complex, because the computer has to do everything it needs for VR, plus it has to see and understand the real world, that it's layering the graphics over - really understand, the way people do, not just "that looks like a flat surface to put images on". It's not just a HUD. Good AR only exists in science fiction movies now, Pokémon Go decidedly isn't it - PoGo apes AR, looking superficially like it without really being it, similar to the way Doom looked like 3D but really wasn't (eh, not a very good example). So, yeah, Tim's right on this one.

 

[elicate]

Calling it now: Apple will be the first to put full body holograms into the mainstream with AR.

Like this?

Of course AR is gonna be huge. Looking at what people are doing with the Hololens and you can see countless possibilities.

 

[matrix07]

What a wonderful example you are to us all. AirPods probably cost Apple 10$ to manufacture.

When you can make something as good as that for $10 I'll gladly pay $160 to take it off your hands.
[doublepost=1473943751][/doublepost]

Or, you go on a nature hike and see a beautiful flower and the augmented reality tries to sell you a sweater in the same color.

Are you talking about Google phone or Amazon phone?

 

[nocturnum]

When you can make something as good as that for $10 I'll gladly pay $160 to take it off your hands.

Magical comment. Are you a unicorn?