Tim Cook says AR and preventative healthcare are the next big things in tech

Tim Cook has said that he believes AR and preventative healthcare will be the next big developments in tech.

Tim Cook spoke to an audience in Dublin, Ireland whilst collecting a Special Recognition Award for Apple's contributions to FDI in the country. As Silicon Republic notes, Cook took part in a discussion chaired by IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan:

Shanahan asked Cook about major developments in tech he expects in the next five to 10 years. "I'm excited about AR," said the Big Tech CEO, citing augmented reality as an emerging tech space to watch. "My view is it's the next big thing, and it will pervade our entire lives."

One Irish company's work in this space, in particular, caught Cook's eye. "Yesterday, I visited a development company called War Ducks … in Dublin – 15 people and they're staffing up and using AR for games. You can imagine, for games it's incredible but even for our discussion here. You and I might be talking about an article and using AR we can pull it up, and can both be looking at the same thing at the same time."

Cook believes that AR, unlike other technology, can actually be used to enhance human connection, rather than acting as a substitute for it, something he says he is "deeply worried about in other technologies."

In terms of healthcare, he said he was "extremely excited" about the sector, but that the intersection hadn't yet been explored very well. He stated that most tech associated with healthcare is only designed to help people if they get into serious trouble, for example, Apple Watch's fall detection system. He said:

"I think you can take that simple idea of having preventive things and find many more areas where technology intersects healthcare, and I think all of our lives would probably be better off for it."

Not only can tech help increase the effectiveness of preventative healthcare, but Cook believes it could also drive down the cost involved "fundamentally", as it could reduce the amount of money spent on cases that aren't identified soon enough.

Cook, in typical Apple fashion, didn't offer any specifics about what Apple might be planning to do in either of these sectors. But with the increasing power of Apple Watch and Apple's rumored forays into the world of Augmented Reality, it probably won't be long before we see Apple making more moves in both fields.