Apple has no plans to be in social networking, says Tim Cook

Rumours have been circulating that Apple is in the final stages of purchasing the social network Path, presumably to try and take on the likes of Facebook and Twitter in the world of social networking (again). Strangely Tim Cook, Apple CEO, has come out and denied the rumours, insisting that Apple has no interest in social networking at the moment.

Normally when such rumours occur, Apple feeds use the same scripted sentence of “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans”, but instead Tim Cook himself has commented.

Now this could mean a number of things. This could be true, and Tim Cook is clarifying that Apple has absolutely no interest in Path, he could be lying in an attempt to throw people off the trail, or Apple is still buying Path — just not for social networking. Though it would be a bit pointless to acquire the staff of an established social network if Apple is only going to shut it down and use the staff for different things.

While we have no clue what’s actually going on, it would make sense that Apple would buy an established network if it wanted to re-enter the world of social networking. Path itself may not be as big as Facebook, but with 25 million users it’s not exactly a small fish either.

Want to read more? Here’s our coverage of the recent Apple announcements, including everything you need to know about Apple’s ‘phablet’, the iPhone 6 Plus, and smartwatches buying guide, or if you’re sick of Apple completely, here’s our rundown of our 14 favourite dating apps, from Tinder to eHarmony.

Tom Pritchard