In an exclusive interview with Dutch media site Bright, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that the tech giant’s reluctance to join the metaverse frenzy is deliberate.
“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,” Cook told the outlet.
The term “metaverse” describes a fictional internet that can only be accessed through immersive technology rather than 2D screens.
On Apple earnings call this year, the phrase “metaverse” has only been used once, compared to 36 times on Meta earnings calls. CEOs disagree on whether the metaverse is a real product like virtual reality or is just a concept for a virtual environment that might never materialize, despite the buzzword’s frequent use.
Following Facebook’s rebranding and statement last fall that it will invest $10 billion in creating the so-called metaverse, Apple stood apart from the rest of the tech industry in its apparent refusal to support Mark Zuckerberg’s current obsession.
Instead, Apple has concentrated its emerging technology investment on Augmented Reality.
When an analyst queried Cook about Apple’s involvement in the metaverse in January, he said the company is “always researching new and emerging technologies” and pointed to the App Store’s 14,000 AR kit apps.
“I think AR is a profound technology that will affect everything,” Cook told Bright in the interview published Friday, adding that virtual reality is not a way to “live your whole life.
“It’s something you can really immerse yourself in. And that can be used in a good way,” he said. “VR is for regular periods, but not a way to communicate well. So I’m not against it, but that’s how I look at it.”
