It looks like Tim Cook hasn't been keeping up on the latest hipster fashion trends.
In an interview at the D11 conference hosted by AllThingsD on Tuesday evening, Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed the future of wearable technology, and said that he doesn't think people will buy Google Glass, because people don't wear glasses for fashion. Sounds like Cook hasn't spent much time in Williamsburg lately.
"I wear glasses because I have to. I don’t know a lot of people that wear them that don’t have to. They want them to be light and unobtrusive and reflect their fashion. … I think from a mainstream point of view, this [pointing to his glasses] is difficult to see."
Cook claimed that the wrist is "somewhat natural" for wearable technology. Apple has been rumored for months to be developing a smartwatch, though Cook demurred AllThingD's Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg when asked directly about Apple's plans.
Cook's own frameless glasses are certainly "light and unobtrusive," but it seems like Apple's 52-year-old chief executive underestimates young people's appetite for thicker eyewear like Glass. Just look at the success of glasses startup Warby Parker, which sells almost exclusively "hipster glasses." It's not by accident that Google has partnered with Warby to develop cool-looking face computers. Glasses (even without prescription leses) have been seen as a cool fashion statement for years.
Some people may find Google Glass unfashionable, or dorky, and not be interested in buying them because of that. A computer planted directly above your eye is unlike anything anyone's ever seen before, so people are wary, especially considering concerns about the privacy invasion and about always being connected to the Internet. But Cook has his trends backward: bulkier glasses are in style, and Google Glass shouldn't be hurt because it's too thick.