Several companies, including Meta, formerly known as Facebook, are making major bets on the Metaverse.
But Apple CEO Tim Cook isn’t as quick to embrace the virtual world, instead believing that augmented reality (AR) is where the future really lies.
“I always think it’s important that people understand what something is,” the Apple CEO told Dutch publication Bright on Friday. “And I’m really not sure the average person can tell you what the metaverse is.”
The average person might not be able to tell you what the Metaverse is all about, but that didn’t stop Meta co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg from pouring at least $10 billion into his virtual-reality vision in 2021 alone, per the report. Verge.
In general, “metaverse” refers to virtual reality (VR) platforms where people can “talk, work, shop, and play games” using immersive technology such as virtual-reality headsets.
Although these worlds already exist to some extent, many major tech players want to develop hardware and software that allows people to spend more time and money in the metaverse.
But some, including Cook, believe augmented reality (AR) shows more promise than the metaverse. AR involves superimposing virtual elements and images in the real world.
Cook told Bright that AR will “go much further” than it’s in use today and that Apple is reportedly developing an AR/VR headset that could launch in 2023, according to Bloomberg.
“I think AR is a profound technology that will impact everything,” Cook says. “Imagine suddenly being able to teach with AR and display things that way. Or medically, and so on. As I said, we’re really going to look back and think about how we How once did you live without AR.”