Apple has just released its Q1 2022 results, which for the uninitiated corresponds to the fourth calendar quarter of 2021.
The numbers were nothing short of blockbuster, with revenues of $123.9 billion, and a tidy $34.6 billion in profit. This beat analysts estimates, and sent the stock price soaring.
However, another announcement that may have had an effect on the stock price was CEO Tim Cook’s revelation that the company is seriously looking into the metaverse.
In response to a question from Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, Cook said that the company “sees lot of potential in this space.”
Well that’s a big question. We’re a company that’s in the business of innovation. We’re always exploring new and emerging technologies and this is an area that is very interesting to us.
We have 14,000 ARKit apps on the App Store, which provide incredible AR experiences for millions of people today. We see a lot of potential in this space and are investing accordingly.
Tim Cook
Although he did not give more specifics on the investments they are undertaking in this space, Cook said that they are always looking for areas that are at the intersection of hardware, software, and services. The metaverse certainly fits that description.
“We look at areas that are at the intersection of hardware, software, and services because we think that’s where the magic really happens,” he said.
“There are areas that have more than piqued our interest and we are investing in those. You can tell that we’ve ramped our R&D spend even more than we were before. There’s quite a bit of investment going into things that aren’t on the market at this point.”
Apple intends to enter the metaverse, not just as a software provider, but a hardware provider too. They are reportedly planning on launching their first AR/VR headset later this year or in early 2023.
