Tim Cook said Apple is working on an augmented reality product, or AR, in an interview with state-run China Daily, telling RA fans to “stay tuned and see what we have to offer.” It reads like a direct hint that the company is working on some kind of headset, which has been rumored for years, unless of course you think people will be excited about using ARKit apps on their phones.
In the clip, which 9to5Mac caught our eye, the interviewer asks Cook what he thinks are the key factors for an RA product to be successful. Cook responds by saying he “couldn’t be more excited” about RA, even though he was “in the early stages” of his evolution.
Cook has spoken about the AR dozens of times during his tenure as CEO of Apple and has gone so far as to say that he is the “number one” fan of technology. He also accepted that RA is a “fundamentally important part of Apple’s future” and when the company announced its AR API, Craig Federighi said the technology was a “profound” change. But while these comments made it clear that Apple was working in space, there were no promises that Apple would deliver an AR device.
For years, rumors have been circulating that Apple is working on an AR headset or even a combination of augmented / virtual reality headphones, and from all that we have gathered in this time, has had a turbulent design process. The device is currently believed to be a standalone unit, with the computer powered by the built-in headset. Analysis Ming-Chi Kuo has said the headphone chip will be as powerful as those powered by Macs.
Recent reports suggest that the headphones are almost ready. Work on its operating system, called Reality OS, has increased, according to Bloomberg, and the board had to test the hardware last month.
Still, Cook’s comment isn’t necessarily a positive proof that Apple’s headphones are just around the corner. In March, Apple explicitly announced that an Apple Silicon Mac Pro announcement would arrive. Many people, myself included, were confident that this would mean that we could see it at WWDC in June. But the presentation came and went without Apple showing off its high-end machine. What I’m saying is that while Apple seems to be opening up a bit about what products it has in the hopper, it certainly still makes us guess.