Tim Cook: Apple Working on 'Really Great Stuff'

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Image: ChinaFotoPress

By Todd Wasserman2014-02-07 13:28:25 UTC

Apple CEO Tim Cook addressed concerns that 2014 will be a replay of 2013 for the company with no releases in new segments claiming the company has some "really great stuff" planned.

"There will be new categories. We're not ready to talk about it, but we're working on some really great stuff," Cook told The Wall Street Journal . When asked if "new categories" might refer to a refinement of an existing one, like an iPad Air or new mobile payment services, Cook replied that any "reasonable" person would deem what the company is working on as a new category.

See also: Apple's Holiday Quarter: By the Numbers

Cook's interview came in the context of a discussion about Apple's decision to repurchase $14 billion of its own shares after the company's stock fell 8% on Jan. 28, the day the company reported lower-than-expected iPhone sales for the fourth quarter. Apple has bought back about $40 billion of its own shares over the past 12 months.

"It means that we are betting on Apple," Cook said. "It means that we are really confident on what we are doing and what we plan to do. We're not just saying that. We're showing that with our actions."

Apple has not launched a product in a new category since the iPad in 2010, unless you count entries like the iPad Mini or the iPad Air, which are refinements of existing products. Apple has been long-rumored to be working on a smartwatch. Most recently, a report surfaced that Apple is working on fitness- and health-tracking software (iOS8) that could be included in an "iWatch."

Topics: apple, Business, iwatch, tim cook