Apple’s upcoming first generation augmented reality headset marks a notable milestone for the company and its leadership. Reports from the Financial Times suggest that Tim Cook will steer this new device into a fresh product category, a move that signals a deliberate departure from the company’s past patterns where the late Steve Jobs loomed large over major innovations.
The Financial Times notes that the Apple Watch, released in 2015, and the AirPods wireless earbuds launched in 2016, were formed from ideas that predated Cook’s tenure as chief executive. The implication is that Apple’s core visions during Jobs’s era still echo in the design and direction of contemporary products, even as Cook guides execution and strategy today.
According to the same source, the AR/VR headset represents a signpost for Apple as it pursues a new product category under Cook. The initiative is described as a project that began in earnest after Jobs’s era, with Cook overseeing a shift in how the company develops and defines its next big technology play.
Industry insiders highlight that the Apple Watch and AirPods were influenced by long-standing ideas within the company, ideas that existed before Cook took the helm. This perspective underscores a continuity of Apple’s innovation ethos while emphasizing that leadership changes can reframe the pace and emphasis of product development.
Sources close to Apple indicate that development of the future AR/VR headset began from scratch around the mid 2010s, a timeline that aligns with Cook’s early years as CEO. The narrative points to a seven-year effort that involved significant collaboration and tension between the industrial design team and operations executives, including Cook in a central role during the process.
As the company prepared to introduce its first VR headset, internal reviews in the lead-up to a 2023 rollout reflected caution from technical staff about readiness. Despite these warnings, senior leadership, with Cook at the helm, pressed forward in an effort to bring the new device to market and to establish Apple’s authority in immersive technology.