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Apple executives don't often sound off or even hint at future products until they've been announced, but on Thursday, CEO Tim Cook went on record to state that his company is currently working on some "really great stuff" in the category of new products. Speaking with The Wall Street Journal, he didn't go into any specifics, but with 2014 having already been outlined as a significant year in the company's growth by the head honcho, the interest of the tech world has been well and truly piqued.

In an overt effort to appease shareholders and investors, Cook remained optimistic about the year ahead throughout the interview, and when the topic of conversation moved on to new products, he did shed a little light, while still playing his cards close to his chest:

There will be new categories. We're not ready to talk about it, but we're working on some really great stuff.

Tim Cook Apple CEO

Interestingly, he noted that anyone "reasonable" would consider what the company is working on to warrant the new categories label, which suggests that while – whatever it is – will be new as far as Apple is concerned, we've probably seen something similar before.

Early last year, it was reported that the fruit company had a team of up to 100 dedicated staff working on a so-called iWatch, and with Sony and Samsung having both released their respective smartwatch efforts to rival the Pebble last year, it is widely suspected that Apple will follow suit in 2014. But even though the concepts keep appearing and alleged tip-offs continue to surface, we've yet to see any tangible evidence of the wearable's existence, so whether Tim Cook is hinting towards this particular product or something else is, at this point, anyone's guess.

Although it's unusual for Cook to step out and even open a conversation about prospective new products, it's all a part of his role as CEO. To shareholders, the company must always be looking for areas of growth, and this is exactly what Apple's leader has sought to achieve here.

But while we cannot look too far into what may or may not be on the horizon, at least we know that something new and exciting is headed to market at some point this year.

What would you like to see Apple bring to the table?