Apple CEO Tim Cook answered questions from analysts on Thursday after the iPhone maker posted its financial earnings results for the first fiscal quarter of 2022, beating Wall Street expectations by reporting an all-time revenue record of $123.9 billion, up 11 percent year over year.
When asked by Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty about the metaverse during the live Q&A call following the fiscal results reveal, Cook noted how the metaverse is an area in which Apple sees “a lot of potential,” noting that the company is “investing accordingly.”
Apple for years has been rumored to be developing a new AR/VR headset, which until recently had been expected to be announced later this year. The new Apple headset is said to mix augmented reality and virtual reality, with gaming expected to be one of the main areas Apple is focusing on with its new device.
During the investor call, Katy Huberty asked: “How are you thinking about the metaverse opportunity and Apple’s role in that market?” which Cook responded: “That’s a big question. We’re a company in the business of innovation. We’re always exploring new and emerging technologies and this area is very interesting to us. We have 14,000 ARKit apps on the App Store, incredible AR experiences for millions of people today. We see a lot of potential in this space and are investing accordingly.”
Asked later on in the call about Apple’s spending on research and development for the evolutions of existing products versus new offerings, Cook responded as part of his answer: “There are areas that have more than piqued our interest and you can tell over time that we’ve ramped our R&D spend even more than we were before. There’s quite a bit of investment going into things that are not on the market at this point, as there always are.”
Last year we saw The Information publish a sketch supposedly of the upcoming headset, claiming to have seen secret internal imagery from an unnamed source “with direct knowledge” of the development, reporting the device will offer a “sleek, curved visor attached to the face by a mesh material and swappable headbands.”
Concept creator Ian Zelbo later released visuals showing what the new headset will probably look like with an Apple Watch-style adjustable headband and AirPods Max reminiscent mesh cushion for comfort around the wearer’s eyes.
Image: Ian Zelbo