Apple’s $5 billion headquarters – dubbed as Apple Park – is complete, but you will not be allowed into the campus if you are not an Apple employee, according to Business Insider. Explaining why that is so, CEO Tim Cook said that there is a whole lot of confidential information inside the campus and giving access to an outsider could put it at stake.
In a shareholders meeting on Tuesday, Cook said it is a “bane of my existence to hold things confidential.” Cook said this in reply to one shareholder, who asked, “Apple Park is beautiful and enticing. When can I get a tour?”
Apple’s chief designer, John Ive also made similar comments earlier. Speaking to Fast Company toward the end of 2017, Ive said, “We didn’t make Apple Park for other people – It’s our house.” Ive stated that those who gained access would see different teams working collectively in the open-plan office spaces. For instance, one could come across an industrial designer sitting next to a sound designer and a motion graphics designer.
People, who have been to the Apple headquarters for business purposes, share that they are not allowed to explore the place. Also, the pictures posted by the employees from inside of the building are quickly deleted, notes Business Insider. Apple, however, has made a visitor center for fans and enthusiasts at Apple Park. The visitor center includes a store, café and more.
Talking about the visitor center, Cook said that the fans and tourists are, “the reason we created the visitor’s center, which has the AR experience. If you haven’t been to this, I’d really encourage you to do it.” The augmented reality view would include a scale model of Apple Park that can be animated with an iPad camera. Further, Cook stated that the roof deck offers a nice visual of Apple Park and has been created to give a closer look to users and fans.
During the shareholders meeting, Cook also elaborated on Apple’s healthcare services and medical reimbursement related plans, something that he has discussed before. Cook believes that the medical industry incentivizes the wrong thing. He said that the companies put a lot of brains to come up with a product and service that can get them reimbursement from the government.
However, according to Cook, the focus should be on getting reimbursed by the insurance companies. “Our ambition is broader,” he said, according to FT. “The more and more time we spend on this, the more and more excited I am that Apple can make a significant contribution to people’s lives in this area.”
Cook feels that Apple has the potential to come out with products and services for which consumers can pay directly. Some of the ideas are the activity rings on the Apple Watch or the much-hyped non-invasive glucose monitoring system that the company is working on. The CEO added that the system in place does not reward companies to make things that are good for the consumers, but Apple can do that.
Cook is also hopeful of diving deeper into financial services, but admitted the slow start of mobile payment services such as Apple Pay.
