Tim Cook explains how Apple decides which new products to work on next

Apple enters new product categories with purpose, often opting to forego the title of "first" for a chance to be deemed "the best" instead.

That was the case with the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007, the iPad in 2009, and it could turn out to be true for the Apple Watch in 2015.

But how does Apple decide which product categories to pursue next?

Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed exactly that in a recent interview with Fast Company, where he laid out what Mashable is calling Apple's "litmus test."

"When Apple looks at what categories to enter, we ask these kinds of questions: What are the primary technologies behind this? What do we bring? Can we make a significant contribution to society with this? If we can't, and if we can't own the key technologies, we don't do it."

Cook points out that Apple used the same reasoning with the Apple Watch when it was looking into entering into wearables.

"You look at the watch, and the primary technologies are software and the UI [user interface]," Cook told Fast Company. "You're working with a small screen, so you have to invent new ways for input. The inputs that work for a phone, a tablet, or a Mac don't work as well on a smaller screen. Most of the companies who have done smartwatches haven't thought that through, so they're still using pinch-to-zoom and other gestures that we created for the iPhone."

As a result, Apple introduced a new gesture, "Force Touch," with the Apple Watch, which Cook says brings "another dimension of a user interface" to the table, allowing users to bring up additional menus and features without requiring additional buttons.

You can read Fast Company's full interview with Cook by clicking here.