Apple CEO Tim Cook has once again sung praises for Augmented Reality (AR), claiming that this emerging technology would become as big as smartphones one day. Cook's prediction cannot be taken lightly, considering that Apple Inc. enjoys an almost flawless record of spotting emerging trends in the digital world.

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Apple executive's made the bold prediction in an interview with The Independent during his UK visit earlier this week. He claimed that the AR has a universal appeal, similar to smartphones.

"I regard it as a big idea like the smartphone. The smartphone is for everyone, we don't have to think the iPhone is about a certain demographic, or country or vertical market: it's for everyone. I think AR is that big, it's huge," Cook said.

He also made the bold prediction that Augmented Reality would win over Virtual Reality in a big way, claiming that the latter tries to shut down the doors of the world whereas "AR allows individuals to be present in the world but hopefully allows an improvement on what's happening presently."  

Cook argued that most people do not want to lock themselves out from the real world for a long period. The statement seems to be taking a dig at Facebook's VR headset Oculus Rift, which was released on the market in March 2016. 

Last year, Cook said during Apple's Q3 earning call that Pokémon GO's phenomenal success had proven that AR has a bright future. He stated that the company has already invested massively in the technology.    

However, Apple has never revealed the details of its investment either in Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality projects, expect for the fact that it has hired a lot of experts in these fields. Robert Scoble, a well-known tech evangelist, recently revealed that the tech giant is about to release an AR headset in partnership with German firm Carl Zeiss.

But several Apple analysts claim that this Augmented Reality headset may not hit the commercial markets in another two years.