Apple is avoiding specifics about future eyewear after CEO Tim Cook deflected a question in a Wall Street Journal video.
WSJ columnist Ben Cohen asked about smart glasses, and Cook laughed before replying, "I can't say," and adding, "You can't have a ship that leaks from the top," Cook said in the WSJ video piece.
The exchange recalls an old Apple refrain about discretion on unreleased projects. Cook's brief answer came as the interviewer sought clarity on whether Apple plans to ship smart glasses, a topic the company has not publicly detailed in that forum.
The phrase Cook used mirrors remarks Steve Jobs made while deflecting product questions during an interview with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher.
Jobs said: "There used to be a saying at Apple, 'Isn't it funny, a ship that leaks from the top?'" and added that the line had been applied to him earlier in his career.
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In the same interview, Jobs contrasted that saying with another he attributed to Gil Amelio, who described Apple as "like a ship with a hole in the bottom, leaking water."
The video highlights continuity in Apple's approach to product secrecy and messaging about future devices. The company has not offered further details about smart glasses in the WSJ segment.
The recap
- Apple CEO Tim Cook declined to discuss smart glasses publicly.
- Cook used the phrase "ship that leaks from the top" verbatim.
- The line echoes Steve Jobs' interview remarks with Mossberg and Swisher.