Recently, Cook appeared in the media frequently and successively appeared in Shenzhen and Japan. In his recent speech, Cook's words and deeds all revealed the importance of VR, AR, AI, and the four “secret†directions of automobiles.
 VR is fun, but AR is more amazing
Cook recently focused on his views on VR and AR in an exclusive media interview.
Virtual reality will undoubtedly play a decisive role in the future, but AR will eventually become a necessities of life like “three meals a dayâ€. Augmented reality will fully enter our lives.
Why are you more optimistic about AR?
We have invested heavily in this area and will continue to invest. In the long run, we are optimistic about augmented reality. We believe that augmented reality technology holds great potential, so we continue to invest in this technology.
Cook's view is that compared to virtual reality VR, augmented reality has the ability to enhance the human experience, is an extension of human perception, making it more likely to be successful than virtual reality technology, human interaction can not be replaced, and augmented reality technology is conducive to strengthening Interpersonal communication.
I think there are some interesting applications of virtual reality technology, but it is not a technology with a wide range of applications like augmented reality. VR focuses more on immersive experiences, but it is not easy to share with others. AR's social properties are stronger. It allows people to co-locate and see a virtual item at the same time. It may be something we are talking about, or it may be the avatar of our distant friends. In addition, compared to pure virtual VR technology, AR is based on the real world and integrates virtual information technology. It is more interactive and has broader development prospects in medical, military, industrial, and entertainment.
Of course, Cooke is not only talking about his mouth. In recent years, he has started to deploy VR/AR.
Cook's Violence and Initiatives on VR/AR
In favor of AR at the same time, Cook also did not deny the potential of VR. Cooke mentioned that VR has many advantages in education and games, and Apple has great interest in these areas. Cook thinks that AR will first integrate into the operating system, and then it will become ubiquitous as technology develops.
Although Cook has not disclosed the AR/VR strategy, it has made some strategic acquisitions in this area. Starting with the acquisition of AR company Metaio in 2015, this apple has acquired a series of companies related to AR and computer vision: Faceshift (unmarked) Face modeling and animation), Emotient (facial expression recognition and analysis), and Flyby Media (large-scale SLAM technology, indoor navigation, sensor fusion, image recognition, and 3D tracking) were all acquired by Apple within 8 months. And frequently digging from the Microsoft Hololens project technology.
In addition, Apple has also developed its own head-up display technology and applied for a number of related patents: for example, transparent displays, full-projection technologies, and virtual reality systems compatible with the iPhone. And when Pokémon Go was popular all over the world, Cook said that the AR application was very effective in "Princess Pokemon GO," and discussed this matter with executives in an earnings conference call. .
 AI will be the core technology of all Apple products
Today, for the first time, he visited Japan’s Cook and accepted an interview with Japanese media. Cooke said that Apple will build a research and development base in Japan, mainly to develop technologies such as AI.
AI is the core technology related to all products.
Cooke revealed that Apple will invest in AI in many different ways and cooperate with Japanese companies. Cooke believes that AI can be applied to all products, and the way it runs is beyond people's imagination. Cooke hopes that the AI ​​can extend the iPhone's battery life, recommend music for Apple Music's paid subscribers, and even help users remember where the car is parked.
Although Apple's movement in the AI ​​field has been relatively low-key, they have long been quietly working hard. In the past 6 years, Apple has quietly acquired 15 artificial intelligence companies, including innovative technology companies in the fields of speech recognition, natural language processing, image recognition, face recognition, motion capture, and machine learning. In addition, there are machine-learning applications written full of two pages, some of which are already in use, others are still under discussion.
 Focus on automotive new technologies and services
Apple's car-making plan has become a well-known "secret." Before this, the media asked Cook that there are already many big players in the automotive industry joining Apple. Why haven't they announced to start developing cars?
Cooke replied very frankly: "We will explore new technologies and explore new products. We have been thinking about how Apple can create good products that people love. It can help us in some way. We don't necessarily need to invest a lot of money." To explore, when we invest a lot of money, we will keep our promises.â€
As Cook said, Apple is thinking about how to make good products that people love. Therefore, when the product is not finalized, Cook always pays attention to the latest automotive technology that can enhance the consumer experience. Cook's words and deeds in the latest week all reflected his own passion for car manufacturing and related services.
On October 12th, Cooke debuted in Shenzhen Double Creative Week and carefully studied Hanergy solar powered vehicles and gallium arsenide thin film power generation technologies at the Hanergy booth.
Previously there was news that the top of Apple's electric vehicles will also use solar power, which makes people have new conjectures on the development trend of Apple's electric vehicles: Apple's future cooperation with Hanergy to develop electric vehicle solar power generation technology is not impossible.
Tesla has a more complete layout in the direction of solar power generation. It recently acquired SolarCity. His thinking is: solar power generation, PowerWall home energy storage station power storage, and electric vehicle charging. BYD is also deploying photovoltaic power generation. In fact, Apple already invested in solar power systems.
In addition to its interest in automotive technology, car sharing services are also highly valued by Cook. Cooke once again mentioned Didi in an interview with Japanese media, and expressed that this investment is very reasonable:
The reason why we invest a considerable amount of money is mainly because the field is different from what Apple originally did. This investment seems to be the right choice.
 to sum upIn view of the recent VR, AR, AI, and four major automotive projects mentioned by Cook, from the current progress, Apple will apply the above technologies to existing software and hardware products such as the iPhone. Of course, the future is not Excludes the launch of independent products based on various branches: VR heads, AR glasses, AI products, and more. This is also in line with Apple's consistent development logic: first make the underlying technology, improve the existing product experience, and then continue to try new product development.
Next, how Apple will work in the above four areas, we will wait and see.