The company has 14,000 AR apps on its App Store, and Cook
suggested this number will rise with further investment.
"We see a lot of potential in this space and are
investing accordingly," said Cook, in response to a question about its
plans for the metaverse, a broad term that generally refers to shared virtual
world environments that people can access via the internet.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg have reported Apple
plans to introduce an AR headset by this or next year with glasses to follow
later. Apple has not yet publicly acknowledged these plans.
Cook's comments on Thursday, and quarterly profit and sales
topping estimates, helped drive Apple stock up nearly 5 percent in after-hours
trade.
Apple's services revenue jumped by 24 percent to $19.5
billion in the just-ended holiday quarter, topping analysts' estimates of $18.6
billion. The company added 785 million subscribers to its handful of paid
services such as for streaming music and playing games, an increase from 620
million a year ago and 745 million last quarter.
Cook separately on Thursday said that Apple's research and
development efforts are focused on the intersection of hardware, software and
services.
"That's where the magic really happens," Cook
said. "There's quite a bit of investment going into things that are not on
the market at this point."
An AR device could open many opportunities to grow
subscriptions. Existing offerings for fitness workouts and video content could
grow more attractive through immersive AR experiences.
And as the services and subscribers have grown, Apple's
gross profit margins have jumped above 40 percent, drawing praise from
analysts.
Metaverse-related services, such as AR apps, could flip
Apple's revenue mix, said analyst Neil Shah of Counterpoint Research.
"There is a significant upside to Apple's services
business potentially crossing its iPhone in the next five years," Shah
said. © Reuters
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