AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is excited about the iPhone 6, mobile payments, cars, wearables and the connected home, Glenn Lurie, AT&T Mobility president & CEO, told Jon Fortt in a CNBC interview.
The discussion with the AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) CEO comes as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is expected to launch a new iPhone and other products today. According to Lurie, his company is also waiting for what the iPhone-maker launches today as they have seen it become unbelievably successful from when Steve Jobs was still talking to AT&T in the early days trying to figure out where the mobile industry was going.
“We are really excited about it. Obviously, we have the longest relationship with Apple. We have the most iPhone customers, so every time they innovate, it’s just terrific for AT&T,” Lurie told Fortt.
As for mobile payments, the AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) CEO said that digital payments is real. He said that what his company wants to do is give customers a choice particularly because people carry their phones with them all the time.
According to Lurie, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is working with Softcard, previously known as Isis, to bring mobile payments to people. He did acknowledge, however, that this endeavor will take time as the companies involved will have to get people comfortable using mobile payments.
Meanwhile, Lurie also said that his company is very excited in working on projects in the wearables, cars and automated homes spaces. Lurie said that with cars, they have announced great partners with the likes of General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), BMW AG and Audi AG coming on board.
In terms of wearables, he said that AT&T Inc. believes that the future is a standalone wearable device that does not need to be connected to a smartphone for it to be fully functional. The CEO also pointed out that in terms of the connected home, they are right on track with launching their “Digital Life” platform in other markets with the licensing of the platform to Telefonica S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TEF).
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shareholders includes Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies which reported about 3.44 million shares in the company by the end of the second quarter of the year.
Disclosure: None
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