Cook "Will Step Down Within 10 Years"‥Apple Car Hint "Autonomous Driving Is Key"

Revealed on Podcast Ahead of 10th Anniversary of Inauguration

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced that he will step down from Apple management within 10 years. Regarding the development of the Apple Car, he explained that autonomous driving is the core, but did not disclose specific plans or whether there will be cooperation with automobile manufacturers.

On the 5th (local time), in a podcast interview marking his 10th anniversary as CEO, Cook was asked about his plans for 10 years later and said, "I don't know exactly when, but I will step down from Apple management within 10 years." Cook succeeded the CEO position in August 2011 after the late Steve Jobs, Apple's founder, resigned due to health issues.

Cook did not mention who his successor might be. Interest has grown over who will be the next CEO as key Apple executives such as Jony Ive and Phil Schiller have left the company.

Last year, Bloomberg reported that Apple is visualizing a CEO succession plan with CEO candidates including Jeff Williams and John Turnus.

When asked about his plans after retirement, Cook said, "I find it hard to imagine my life without Apple. I probably won't decide what to do until I step down," explaining that he will focus solely on managing Apple.

Apple Car Hint: "Autonomous Driving is Key... Cars are Robots"

Cook also gave a hint about Apple Car development. While avoiding specific comments, he suggested that internal research on Apple Car development is underway.

He said, "Autonomous driving is the core technology. If you take a step back and look, a car is similar to a robot. An autonomous vehicle is a robot. There are many things that can be done with autonomous driving."

He also introduced that "Apple is conducting many internal reviews," but avoided specific comments on whether Apple is preparing to manufacture cars or related technologies.

In particular, Cook emphasized that not all of Apple's projects are ultimately released.

However, "We like to integrate hardware, software, and services and find the intersections among them. We like to own the key technologies related to that," he said.

Regarding his statement that he rejected Elon Musk's offer to sell Tesla, he said, "I have never talked with Musk, but I respect what he has achieved and think Tesla has done incredible things. I want to express great gratitude to them."

Cook also predicted that augmented reality (AR) will be an important area for Apple in the future. Recently, rumors have been growing in the market that Apple will announce an AR headset.