You’ll apparently be able to see the gift shop of the new Apple Park campus, but that’s about it.
Answering a shareholder question as to whether shareholders would ever get a tour of Apple Park in the new Steve Jobs Theater, Apple CEO offered the following reply:
“Probably never. Because there are secrets inside the spaceship. The problem with opening up the main facility for tours is we have so much confidential stuff around. “It’s sort of the bane of my existence to hold things confidential now.”
Cook’s answer echoes a comment about the campus last year from Apple’s head designer, Jony Ive, who called it “our house.”
“We didn’t make Apple Park for other people,” Ive said. “So I think a lot of the criticisms … are utterly bizarre, because it wasn’t made for you. And I know how we work, and you don’t.”
To put a fine point on it, you’re not getting inside one of the Apple Park buildings without being an Apple employee with a badge.
If you have a meeting at Apple, you’re generally not allowed to explore the place, people who have discussed business at Apple’s headquarters have said. And Instagram photos from the interior of the building posted by employees started being removed after Business Insider published a handful earlier this month.
“I’ll send you a picture,” Cook joked with the shareholder.
Even if this is a bit discouraging, Apple did build a place for tourists on its new campus. It’s across the street and functions as a combination of an Apple Store, a cafe, and a shrine to all things Apple.
The company has also built an augmented-reality space that includes a scale model of an Apple Park that you can animate with an device camera.
“If you haven’t been to this, I’d really encourage you to do it,” he said.
Cook concluded with the following:
“The roof deck gives you a nice visual. We created that to give Apple users and Apple fans to get them as close to the park itself.”
From the roof deck, you can see part of the spaceship building through the trees.
The visitors center has been reported as nice and features rare products that can’t be purchased anywhere else including t-shirts, postcards, and Apple-branded baby clothes.
Via Business Insider