Apple CEO Tim Cook made his expected appearance at the D11 Conference last night, with a revealing interview that touched on several important subjects, including Apple’s positions on TVs, wearable computers, and the future of iOS and OS X.
The longstanding rumor that Apple would revolutionize television was one of the first areas that hosts Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher focused on. Mr. Cook refused to give details, but reiterated that the company finds the television space an “area of great interest.” He lauded the surprising success of the Apple TV streaming box, which has sold 13 million units to date, and admitted that improvements to the TV-watching experience were long overdue.
As for other rumors that Apple is developing an “iWatch,” Mr. Cook again refused to give details but made some broad comments about the upcoming era of “wearable computers.” While he admitted that the company was interested in the advancements made by Google with its Glass project, Mr. Cook felt that the area was still “ripe for exploration” and that additional capabilities, such as biometric sensors, would be necessary to make the product category truly revolutionary.
Another interesting revelation from Apple’s CEO was that the company is planning to grant developers access to additional APIs in iOS. Apple has infamously limited developer access to key areas of iOS and the iDevice hardware as part of its highly-curated walled garden approach. While this strategy has led to a relatively safe user experience on iOS, it has also limited key app developments that have made their way to competitors’ platforms.
In response to this trend, Mr. Cook revealed that Apple will begin to allow developers access to additional iOS APIs, but “not to the degree that we put the customer at risk of having a bad experience.” Assuming that Apple can successfully balance the need for innovation with security requirements, iOS customers may soon gain access to many features that were heretofore only available via apps on jailbroken devices.
To hear Mr. Cook’s comments in their entirety, including his thoughts on porting Apple services such as iCloud to Android, market share numbers, and Jony Ive’s handling of iOS, watch the full interview, embedded below. More information, particularly relating to iOS and OS X, is expected during Apple’s WWDC Keynote on Monday, June 10.
