Apple shares soar after CEO reveals he will invest in Metaverse

Shares of Apple rose sharply in after-hours trading after Apple CEO Tim Cook said on the company's first-quarter 2022 earnings call that he sees considerable potential in the metaverse. .

When asked about Apple's opportunity in the Metaverse during a Jan. 27 conference call, Cook replied, "We see a lot of potential in this space and are investing accordingly."

"We've been exploring emerging technologies, and I've talked at length about how interesting it is for us right now."

The Metaverse is an interoperable virtual world, created in part by users, that offers social networking, gaming and even live concerts. While it can be accessed through a browser, the experience is even better using virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR).

APPL fell about 3 percent to $159.22 in regular trading, but has since gained 8 percent to $167.23 in after-hours trading. The metaverse was just one of the topics discussed on the call.

According to Appleinsider, during a conference call on January 27, Cook pointed out that there are already 14,000 apps on Apple’s App Store that were designed using the AR development platform ARKit. Apps designed using ARKit can help users enter the metaverse.

While Meta leans toward using Oculus headsets to immerse users in the Metaverse, Apple is still betting on AR technology for now. Apple's headset was originally slated for release in 2022, but the product could be delayed due to hardware and software challenges, Bloomberg reported Jan. 14.

While Cook has embraced the Metaverse, the headset in development will focus on gaming, communication, and content consumption. So far, the world's largest company by market capitalization lags behind other technology leaders like Meta and Microsoft, which are both pushing forward with public plans to develop in the Metaverse.

Microsoft recently bought Activision Blizzard for $69 billion with the intention of expanding the metaverse of games.

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