Considering how the iPhone is losing some major steam, Apple is going to need to find some more sources of revenue if it wants to continue to be as ridiculously successful as it has been in recent years. The company already secured a chunk of the growing wearables market with the Apple Watch, but that’s not going to be enough, which is why there’s speculation that Apple will enter other emerging markets like drones and virtual reality in the future. While there’s nothing in the way of official confirmation that this will happen, CEO Tim Cook did drop some hints that his company is interested in virtual reality during Tuesday’s quarterly earnings report.
If iPhone sales are cooling down, as Tuesday’s Apple earnings showed, the pressure on the company to find additional profitable products next to its flagship revenue juggernaut will only heat up. Could it be cars? Or maybe virtual reality, the field in which Apple recently poached a key academic researcher? On the latter, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook gave a sliver of insight into how Cupertino is viewing the newfangled computing platform. An analyst on the earnings call tossed a question to Cook about new products, throwing the curveball about any “high level” thoughts on virtual reality, specifically whether it’s a “geeky niche,” as many outside (and in) tech see it. “In terms of virtual reality, no, I don’t think it’s a niche,” Cook replied. “I think it can be … it’s really cool and has some interesting applications.” Sadly, Cook didn’t get into those applications. But it’s telling enough that Cook didn’t ignore the question. Nor did he disparage the space into which Apple competitors Google and Samsung are plowing resources. So let the rampant speculation begin!