Tim Cook Talks New Product Category During Apple's Earnings Call

Apple is holding its fourth quarter 2013 earnings call this afternoon, and to kick it off, CEO Tim Cook has taken to discussion about new product categories. Unfortunately, he didn't go into details about what those new products would look like, nor even hint at what could be expected, but he did serve up a general timeline on the matter, and we won't have too much longer to wait.

According to Cook, next year presents big opportunities for new product categories, but we won't necessarily have to wait until 2014 to see them, with him also saying that new things from the company will surface this "fall and across 2014." He went on to point out that we've already seen some products from the company in recent months, namely the newest iPads and iPhones.

He has also boasted about Apple in general, saying that by looking at the company's "skill in hardware, software, and services, these skills are very unique and no one else has them." What kind of new product categories Apple is eyeing is another matter, with only speculation existing at the time. It is anticipated that Apple will be introducing a wearable device in the near future, and so that is one option.

Back in February, word surfaced from unnamed sources that spoke to Bloomberg about a 100-person team at Apple working to develop a smartwatch-like device. Those sources said the team is comprised of both hardware and software engineers, as well as managers and marketing group members. The device is reportedly similar to a wristwatch, and is designed to perform some tasks done by the iPad and iPhone, and could possibly work as a standalone device.

SOURCE: Apple