If the AppleBoss speaks, you better listen carefully. In interviews, Tim Cook likes to hide hints of what’s next from the iPhone company. Long before the Apple Watch was officially announced, he hinted that the wrist was “a very exciting place” for technology. In a recent interview, Cook dropped some breadcrumbs again. His statements about augmented reality, AR for short, are particularly interesting.
“I love AR,” Cook said in a panel discussion at an awards ceremony in Ireland. There he was asked which technology he thought would be most important in the next five to ten years. “I think that will be the next big thing and will permeate our entire lives.”
Is AR the future?
That cook Seeing a lot of potential in AR is no secret. Apple has long been expanding the AR capabilities of its devices, advertising them with elaborate demos for product presentations. The AR-Kit also made it easier for app developers to implement their ideas. Before the performance, Cook visited the Irish AR developer War Ducks, then raved on stage about the work there and the resulting games.
But then he went into more detail – and made it clear that he is more than AR on iPhone and iPad. “That would also be useful for our discussion here. We could talk about an article, get it out via AR and look at the same thing at the same time,” said the Apple boss. “Or you can lie under the car and change the oil. If you are not sure how to do that, you can use AR.”
Apple and the glasses plans
If you are wondering where the advantage of a smartphone is, you should be on the right track. AR in Cook’s examples would be particularly advantageous if you did not have to hold a device in your hand – the information would be right in front of your eyes. Now you just have to know that Apple is rumored to have very specific plans to launch AR glasses next year – and the hints are strongly reminiscent of the earlier comment on the wrist.
Cook’s other versions also go better with glasses than with a smartphone. In his view, AR stands less as a barrier between people than other current technologies. “I don’t think it isolates people. We can use it to broaden our conversation. It doesn’t replace the human connection. It’s something that always worries me about technology,” Cook said of the benefits of AR. And here it is also clear: AR on a smartphone he can not really mean.
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Prevention as a new business
The Apple CEO named the area around technology in health as another exciting development. “There is an intersection that has not been explored very well yet. There is not much technology that can help people stay healthy unless there are serious problems.” Apple would therefore have placed the Apple Watch as a device for everyday health monitoring.
With its function to detect atrial fibrillation, it would warn the wearer before there are any real complications, says Cook. “I think with the simple idea of prevention, you can find many areas where technology and health come together. And in the end, we are all better off.”
Cook had previously said Apple’s greatest health benefits could be found in the future. And apparently Apple also has something in the pipeline. “Most health care funds go into cases that are not recognized early enough”; Cook said. “It will take a while, but things we’re working on – which I’m not going to talk about today – give me a lot of hope.”
Swell: Silicon Republic. Independent
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