Apple’s stock price soared after the close after CEO Tim Cook said during the company’s first-quarter 2022 earnings call that he sees significant upside in the Metaverse space.
When asked On Jan. 27, during Apple’s Metaverse opportunity conference call, Cook responded, “We see a lot of potential in this space and are investing accordingly.”
“We’re constantly researching new and emerging technologies, and I’ve spoken at length about how exciting this is for us right now.”
the Metaverse is an interoperable virtual universe partly created by users and offers socialization, games and even live concerts. Although it can be accessed through a browser, the experience is better with virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR).
APPL had dropped about 3% to $159.22 during regular hours but has since risen 8% to $167.23 in after-hours trading. The Metaverse was just one of the topics discussed on the conference call.
Apple Insider reported that Cook pointed out in the Jan. 27 conference call that Apple (APPL) already has a bevy of 14,000 apps in its App Store developed with the AR developer platform, ARKit. Apps developed with ARKit could help users gain access to the Metaverse.
While Meta tends to use the Oculus headset to immerse users in the Metaverse, Apple has so far relied on AR technology. However, an Apple headset should appear in 2022 Bloomberg reported on Jan. 14 that there may be delays due to hardware and software issues.
Despite Cook’s embrace of the metaverse, the headset in development It is believed to focus on gaming, communication and content consumption. So far, the world’s largest company by market cap is lagging behind other tech leaders like Meta and Microsoft, both of which are moving forward with public plans to develop in the Metaverse.
Related: Meta poaches Microsoft and Apple employees for Metaverse plans
Microsoft recently bought Activision Blizzard for $69 billion with plans to expand Metaverse gaming.
