Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasised on Apple’s investments into AR. Speaking at Apple’s Q1 2022 earnings call, Cook said that AR apps provided 'incredible AR experiences for millions of people today.' Apple has 14,000 AR apps on its App Store currently, and this number is slated to rise in the coming years.
When asked about Apple’s plans for the metaverse, Cook said that Apple sees a lot of potential in this space, and is investing accordingly.
Earlier reports, including from noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, have indicated that Apple is working on launch an AR/VR mixed reality headset, which was planned to launch in 2021, but has now been pushed to 2023. Apple has not officially announced anything about the headset yet.
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Cook’s comments, along with Apple’s quarterly sales and profit estimates, led to Apple’s stock rising by nearly 5% in after-hours trade.
Cook had stated separately last week that Apple’s research and development efforts are focused on the integration of hardware, software, and services. "There's quite a bit of investment going into things that are not on the market at this point,” he said.