Deafening chatter concerning the theoretical hellscape that’s the metaverse has seemingly inspired each exec to offer their take, however notably lacking from the scrum is a sure Cupertino-based firm. On Thursday, we lastly heard from Apple CEO Tim Cook who gave a restrained endorsement.

When requested concerning the metaverse throughout Apple’s newest earnings name, Cook gave acquainted responses, stating “we’re a company in the business of innovation” and “we have over 14,000 AR apps in the App Store.” He went on to say that Apple sees “a lot of potential” within the area and is “investing accordingly” (by way of Apple Insider).

None of this could come as a shock contemplating Apple has lengthy been bullish on augmented actuality, with Cook as soon as calling himself “AR fan number one.” What’s maybe most notable concerning the response is that Cook by no means used the time period “Metaverse.”

Metaverse, first coined in Neal Stephenson’s 1992 sci-fi basic Snow Crash, is used to explain a future the place the bodily and digital worlds meld collectively by way of using AR, VR, and blended actuality—the place digital objects seem in the true world and the digital world seems extra just like the bodily one. Recently, metaverse has develop into a favourite subject among the many tech elite after Facebook rebranded to Meta.

As invested as Apple is within the expertise—each the {hardware} and software program—that will allow what some think about “the future of the internet,” the corporate has but to drop the buzzing time period. But then, Apple isn’t an organization to rapidly leap on fads and prefers to attend for issues to mature. It additionally likes to do its personal branding (AppleVerse, anybody?) and isn’t on the perfect phrases with Zuckerberg and Co.

The metaverse is a enjoyable idea to think about in literature or movie, however the actuality of this fanciful new actuality is that we’re a few years away from the aim of a metaverse the place all the pieces occurs in real-time and is persistent throughout platforms. In reality, an Intel lead mentioned final yr that the metaverse will want a 1,000-fold improve in computational effectivity than what is out there immediately, and that “the entire plumbing of the internet will need major upgrades.”

Apple is claimed to be engaged on a VR headset that might be launched later this yr, however don’t precise any “metaverse” speak when it arrives. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, a dependable Apple analyst, says the corporate’s upcoming AR headset will likely be for shorter exercise classes, to not deliver us nearer to the Oasis in Ready Player One.

“Here’s one word I’d be shocked to hear on stage when Apple announces its headset: metaverse,” Gurman wrote in his Power On e-newsletter. “I’ve been told pretty directly that the idea of a completely virtual world where users can escape to — like they can in Meta Platforms/Facebook’s vision of the future — is off limits from Apple.”

That mentioned, the headset would mark the primary main step towards constructing a extra seamless bridge between worlds, which may take the form of glasses or contact lenses.