Apple chief Tim Cook: ‘Life without AR would soon be unthinkable’
Over the last several days, Apple CEO Tim Cook has been travelling across various European countries. One of the stops was the University of Naples Federico II, where Cook was awarded an honorary degree in Innovation and International Management. After receiving the degree, he spoke to Dutch news outlet Bright about the future of augmented reality (AR) and the metaverse.
“Insieme saremo in grado di creare un futuro migliore”
Laurea honoris causa a Tim Cook in Innovation and International Management@tim_cook #timcookatunina #timcook #unina pic.twitter.com/Fate1hiLWV
— Unina Federico II (@UninaIT) September 29, 2022
While speaking at the ceremony where he was awarded the degree, he told students that we will soon look back on life without AR as we looked back on life without a smartphone or without the internet.
“AR apps are already in the App Store, but the possibilities will go much, much further. I think AR is a profound technology that will affect everything. Imagine suddenly being able to teach with AR and demonstrate things that way. Or medically, and so on. Like I said, we are really going to look back and think about how we once lived without AR,” said Cook to Bright.
In recent times, many tech companies have jumped on the “metaverse” bandwagon, most notable of which is Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta, which changed its name in 2021 to signal a shift in direction for the technology conglomerate. But the word has been conspicuous its absence in Apple’s vocabulary as the brand has not begun using the word yet.
“I always think it’s important that people understand what something is. And I’m really not sure the average person can tell you what the metaverse is,” explained Cook to Bright. “It’s something you can really immerse yourself in. And that can be used in a good way. But I don’t think you want to live your whole life that way. VR is for set periods, but not a way to communicate well. So I’m not against it, but that’s how I look at it,” he added.
