Apple CEO Tim Cook Revs Rumor Engine With Talk Of Big Plans

Apple CEO Tim Cook has piqued fan interest and rumors once again with a characteristically vague but enticing mention of "big plans" for 2014. The mention came by way of an employee newsletter he sent to the entire Apple workforce. It was nestled near the end of a long list of accomplishments both from a product standpoint and from a corporate citizenship perspective.

"We have a lot to look forward to in 2014, including some big plans that we think customers are going to love," Cook wrote. The holiday missive went out just today, and of course the leaks were numerous and instaneous. The entire email may be read over at 9to5Mac among other places. (We're thinking Apple employee newsletters should just be posted to a public-facing blog from now on for the sake of energy efficiency.)

Speculations of what exactly those big plans might be run the gamut. Sources have said Apple is developing a fitness-optimized, sensor-laden smartwatch — the so-called "iWatch" — and an updated hardware and software configuration with voice and motion control for Apple TV. Larger iPads and iPhones are in the works, as is a rumored MacBook Air replacement product with Retina display technology.

The letter celebrated the rollout of the iPhone 5s, iOS7, OS X Mavericks, iPad Air, iPad mini with Retina, the Mac Pro, and the 50 billionth download from the App Store. It also covered a few Cook's humanitarian and activist causes, such as contributions to typhoon disaster relief, the fight to stop AIDS through (PRODUCT)RED, and equality in the workplace.

SOURCE: MacNN