When it comes to preference over virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies Apple CEO, Tim Cook has made his stance continually clear, AR is most certainly the future. Cook was in Dublin, Ireland this week to receive a Special Recognition Award for the company’s contributions to the country – 6,000 people work at its Cork office – and discussed the future of tech and AR’s role.
During a session chaired by IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan, he asked Cook about his expectations for the next five to ten years: “I’m excited about AR. My view is it’s the next big thing, and it will pervade our entire lives,” reports Silicon Republic.
While Apple has yet to enter the AR headset market to compete against Microsoft HoloLens 2 or Magic Leap 1, the company has made great software inroads thanks to the launch of ARKit back in 2017 – which is now in its third iteration. This has helped developers create a wide range of apps and videogames for iOS devices. Besides entertainment, Cooks sees plenty of useful applications of AR for home users: “You may be under the car changing the oil, and you’re not sure exactly how to do it. You can use AR,” he mentions.
He also seems to make a subtle nod to his dislike of VR and why AR is his tech of choice: “I think it’s something that doesn’t isolate people. We can use it to enhance our discussion, not substitute it for human connection, which I’ve always deeply worried about in some of the other technologies.”
During his visit to Ireland Cook managed to pop into Dublin-based developer War Ducks, the team behind VR titles like Sneaky Bears and RollerCoaster Legends II: Thor’s Hammer. Last year the company announced a $3.8 million USD investment which was going towards a location-based AR experience.
“Yesterday, I visited a development company called War Ducks … in Dublin – 15 people and they’re staffing up and using AR for games,” Cook mentioned. “You can imagine, for games it’s incredible but even for our discussion here. You and I might be talking about an article and using AR we can pull it up, and can both be looking at the same thing at the same time.”
As Apple continues to expand its AR development, VRFocus will keep you updated.