Apple’s (AAPL) next major product, an AR/VR headset, is expected to be unveiled at its WWDC event in June. And that puts the company and CEO Tim Cook on a direct collision course with market leader Meta.
In an interview with GQ, Cook lays out his vision for an AR/VR device and how it could help consumers. And, likely to the chagrin of Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Cook says the gadget could “greatly enhance people’s communication, people’s connection.”
While he doesn’t mention Meta, or confirm a headset is on its way, Cook’s statement is, nonetheless, a shot across the company’s bow. Zuckerberg and company have been working on their AR/VR headsets for years, ever since the company acquired headset maker Oculus in 2014 for $2 billion.
Part of that effort has been developing the metaverse, a series of interconnected online worlds where users can, you guessed it: communicate and connect.
Meta currently offers its Meta Horizon Worlds, a kind of early version of the metaverse where users can meet up as virtual avatars and play games, watch concerts, or just hang out and chat. Meta is also collaborating with Microsoft (MSFT) to bring that company’s Teams and Microsoft 365 productivity apps to its Quest headsets.
While Meta’s efforts are largely based around VR at this point, Zuckerberg’s ultimate goal is to make a lightweight headset that can overlay the virtual world onto the physical world via augmented reality. And that’s exactly what Cook is setting his sights on.
“It’s the idea that there is this environment that may be even better than just the real world—to overlay the virtual world on top of it might be an even better world,” Cook said.
That’s exactly the kind of world Meta and Zuckerberg are hoping to occupy, as well. The company already has a decent lead on Apple, with 22 million Quest headsets in the wild. But Apple has already proven time and again that it can enter an established space as a newcomer and effectively take over to become the dominant force.