Apple CEO Tim Cook defended the company's record of innovation under his stewardship, saying he expected it to release "several more game changers" and hinting that wearable computers could be among them.
"It's an area where it's ripe for exploration," Cook said on Tuesday at the All Things Digital conference, an annual gathering of technology and media executives in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
"It's ripe for us all getting excited about," he said. "I think there will be tons of companies playing in this."
Cook's remarks come at a time when worries are mounting that the company that created the smartphone and tablet markets is ceding ground to competitors such as Samsung and Google, with a slowdown in earnings growth hitting its share price.
The executive stopped short of clarifying if Apple was working on wearable products amid speculation that it is developing a smartwatch, saying only that wearable computers had to be compelling.
He added that Google Glass—a cross between a mobile computer and eyeglasses that can both record video and access the Internet—is likely to have only limited appeal.
"There's nothing that's going to convince a kid who has never worn glasses or a band or a watch to wear one, or at least I haven't seen it," Cook said in the almost 90-minute question and answer session. "So I think there's lots of things to solve in this space."