Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, has said at an event at the University of Oxford that he prefers augmented reality over the much hyped virtual reality.
His reasoning for this is that VR by design cuts off the user’s connection with the world, a result that he believes fails to heighten human connection and thought.
In the case of AR, he believes the technology has a profound place in our future, with a great many use cases that could enhance our experiences, rather than replace them.
Answering a question regarding transformative technologies at the event, Mr Cook said: “I’m incredibly excited by AR because I can see uses for it everywhere… I can see uses for it in education, in consumers, in entertainment, in sports. I can see it in every business that I know anything about,” as reported by the BBC.
“I also like the fact that it doesn’t isolate… I don’t like our products being used a lot. I like our products amplifying thoughts and I think AR can help amplify the human connection… I’ve never been a fan of VR like that because I think it does the opposite,” Cook said.
He did however say that there is value in VR in some niche areas, but reiterated that it is AR that is set to have a profound impact on the world.
This opinion from the Apple CEO has coincided with the announcement of the Oculus Go, a VR headset set to be released in 2018. The $199 device is intended to open up the world of people masses of people, with Facebook expressing the will to bring it to a billion people.
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Directly contrasting the views of Cook, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stands firmly behind VR as an important and transformative technology.
According to BBC, Zuckerberg said: “Some people say that VR is isolating and anti-social. I actually think it’s the opposite. We all have limits to our reality. Opening up more of those experiences to more of us – that’s not isolating, that’s freeing.”
