Apple in the lead up to its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), where the tech giant usually likes to build up excitement for its upcoming suite of software releases, has introduced collectable trading cards as an easter egg of sorts, fuelling speculation about its intention to launch non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the future. Memojis have been a common feature of Apple’s marketing strategy over the years, but this year the Cupertino giant has decided to feature an augmented reality (AR) element that gets triggered by tapping the Memoji featuring non-tradeable cards as collectables.
As per a MacRumors report, clicking the Memoji characters on Apple’s Events page unveils an augmented reality mode and three trading card characters available for collection as Web 2 elements in the upcoming 2022 edition of WWDC.
Naturally, on its own, featuring collectable trading cards as marketing material is not enough to spark rumors of Apple planning an entry into the NFT space. However, the cards bear an uncanny similarity to avatars of RTFKT Studios’ CloneX and animated cards of Gary Vaynerchuk’s VeeFriends Series 2. This has given rise to speculation within the NFT community about the future possibilities of an Apple NFT.
Also, the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, earlier expressed optimism about the mainstream adoption of augmented reality. Likewise, he revealed the company’s intention to invest in the metaverse, causing Apple stocks to jump right after. All put together, many in the NFT community believe that Apple may have NFT trading cards on the way. However, they will have to wait to see how that shapes up.
Apple was also expected to announce its rumored mixed reality headset or it’s new AR/VR operating system at next week’s WWDC but an update from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo earlier this week suggests that with mass production of the device still some way off, a headset launch is unlikely.
