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Apple CEO Tim Cook sees our future in augmented reality and is betting on the development of telemedicine. Trends collected top manager’s forecasts for 2022
2021 marks ten years since Tim Cook took over Apple. The current head of the company is called a neat manager who does not rush to innovate, but releases only well-thought-out solutions. Cook is just as cautious in his forecasts for the future. However, he admits that already in 2022, the main technological trend will be augmented reality, which will find its application in all areas of our real life. What other trends does the visionary note?
AR headset instead of iPhone
By the end of 2022, Apple may introduce the long-awaited augmented reality headset. It will be much more powerful than the iPhone, and will be designed to replace smartphones in the next ten years. With the help of an AR helmet, it will be possible to play, chat and share multimedia files. The headset will run on Apple’s own chip and will be comparable in power to a MacBook. The gadget will cost from $300 to $900. A year later, AR glasses may enter the market, which will not differ in appearance from ordinary sunglasses and will be much more compact than an AR headset.
In September 2021, Cook acknowledged that augmented reality is “a critical part of Apple’s future”. He predicts that AR will be used heavily in healthcare, education, retail, gaming and collaboration.
Cook focuses on the development of a mixed reality headset. Apple has been working on it since at least 2015, but to this day the company hasn’t officially unveiled any prototypes.
Smart device compatibility
Under Cook, Apple began to actively participate in the Matter initiative, in which manufacturers of “smart” devices promote the idea of their compatibility. So, Apple’s HomePod home speaker will be able to work with Amazon’s Ring smart call and Google’s voice assistant. The standard will be open source, and manufacturers will not pay royalties for its use. The first device based on the new protocol, as the participants promise, will be released in 2022.
As part of this work, Apple has open-sourced the HomeKit tool, which will allow the development of smart home accessories. This will help developers create prototypes of non-commercial smart home products. In parallel, the company organized the development of the homeOS smart home operating system and began hiring engineers. It is possible that the company will release a gadget with the functions of a HomePod speaker, which can be connected to an Apple TV and turned into a FaceTime video conferencing system.
Cryptocurrencies in Apple Pay
Tim Cook does not hide the fact that he personally invested in cryptocurrency and was interested in it “for some time.” According to the top manager, “it is reasonable to own it as part of a diversified portfolio.” However, Apple has no plans to accept cryptocurrency in Apple Pay “anytime soon”. Despite the company’s lack of such plans, Cook noted that Apple is considering such a possibility. However, users will not be able to buy, sell or manage such assets on the Apple platform any time soon.
In general, Cook is determined to develop Apple’s financial tools. Back in 2020, he said, “The US is a bit behind in the development of contactless payments due to the pandemic, and therefore we are optimistic in this area and believe that there is still a lot of things that Apple can bring.”
Medical records in iPhone
Back in 2018, Apple opened a network of clinics in California called AC Wellness. For now, their telemedicine services are only available to Apple employees, primarily in Santa Clara County, where the company is headquartered.
However, Tim Cook said that Apple is going to “make a significant contribution” to healthcare. The company is currently making efforts to transfer medical records to the iPhone. The product is in beta testing, but about a hundred hospitals have registered with it, and the company plans to expand it to the entire US healthcare system. Also in 2022, American traumatologists will be able to use the T6 iPad application, which will provide real-time feedback to the team in the hospital when providing assistance.
In addition, in the fall of 2021, the Apple Health application was released, which stores all user health data – they can share it with a doctor or loved ones. At the same time, the application algorithms also analyze the dynamics of changes in indicators.
The Screen Time feature, which appeared in 2018, now allows you to analyze the user’s mental state based on information about the use of the iPhone, including the time spent with a smartphone in hand. Apple has been working with the developers of the Shine mental health monitoring app for years, which includes meditation and mental state diary. Cook believes that maintaining mental health is one of the challenges of the modern world, so the company will work more in this direction in the future.
In the future, the health monitoring option is planned to be expanded to other devices. In December 2021, Apple filed a patent for a MacBook with biosensors in the user’s hands. When working at a computer, the sensor will measure the water content in the body, blood flow in the vessels, heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and other indicators. In this case, the user’s data will be compared with the data of other people, so that the computer can, for example, warn him of possible hypertension.
Apple plans to implement such biosensors in iMacs, iPads, iPhones, wearables, and even kitchen appliances.
Cook promises that the arsenal of health monitoring tools will continue to expand and improve.
Do-it-yourself device repair
In the fall of 2021, Apple announced a self-repair program that will give customers access to original parts, tools, and guides from the company to fix select devices, starting with the iPhone 12 and 13 models. Initially, the program will allow you to replace the display, battery, and camera on your device, and later chip replacements will be available for Macs starting with the M1, including MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac. Tim Cook promised that the program will launch in early 2022 in the US and expand to other countries within a year.
In the longer term, Cook notes the importance of working on ethical AI and user privacy. He considers privacy “one of the biggest issues of the century” and says it’s important to “leave the next generation something that’s much better.”
Cook sees the solution to global problems in the cohesive work of not only governments, but also companies around the world: “We live in a time when some of the biggest problems, such as climate change, cannot be solved by government alone. This requires that other stakeholders move in the same direction and establish public-private partnerships. Diversity and inclusion, racial equality and fairness are what we need to keep the whole society moving forward.”