According to the media, Apple's desktop home device integrates a display similar to the iPad and a mechanical arm. The project, which was approved in 2022, has officially accelerated in recent months and is scheduled to be released as early as 2026 with a hoped-for price of around $1,000. After abandoning car manufacturing, Apple is seeking new growth opportunities and entering the robotics field is an effort by Apple to increase sales and monetize Apple Intelligence.
After giving up on making cars, Apple is expanding into the home robotics sector, expanding the scope of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology and developing new sources of revenue.
Media citing informed sources reported on Wednesday, August 14, that Apple is pushing for the development of an expensive desktop home device. The device integrates a display similar to an iPad and a long mechanical arm that relies on robot actuators to tilt the display up and down and rotate it 360 degrees. According to Apple's concept, it will serve as a smart home command center, video conferencing device, and remote home security tool.
Insiders revealed that the above-mentioned J595 device project, which was approved by Apple's top executives in 2022, only began to accelerate in the past few months and is now fully responsible for Kevin Lynch, who serves as vice president of technology. Lynch was responsible for Apple's self-driving car project and recently for the Apple Watch and health software engineering work. Lynch recently recruited key deputies who helped launch the Apple Watch, as well as renowned robot researchers and engineers to develop desktop robots, with a development team of hundreds of people.
Insiders said that Apple's industrial design team has been studying desktop robots for many years, but there is no consensus within the company on whether to proceed with the project. CEO Cook and hardware engineering chief John Ternus both support it, while the marketing team is concerned that consumers will not be willing to pay for such products, and senior software engineering executives are concerned that they will not get the manpower needed to develop the necessary software Apple has now decided to prioritize the development of robotic devices, with plans to release them as early as 2026 or 2027, hoping to reduce the price to around $1,000. Since there are several years before the target release date, these plans may change in the future.
Media believes that Apple's entry into the field of robotics is part of its efforts to improve the company's sales and personal intelligent system Apple Intelligence monetization capabilities, and mentioned that after deciding to abandon the development of self-driving electric cars earlier this year, Apple is also looking for new growth opportunities.
At the end of February of this year, news broke outside of Apple that the electric vehicle project had been canceled. After nearly a decade of investing billions of dollars in car making, Apple stopped its car making efforts, shocking the automotive industry and the tech world. Many employees in the automotive related teams will transfer to Apple's AI department led by AI and machine learning strategy vice president John Giannandrea, focusing on Apple's increasingly important generative AI projects.
Subsequently, Wall Street analysts generally believed that giving up making cars may be a wise choice for Apple to avoid wasting resources. For Apple, a better strategy to enter the automotive industry should focus on software development rather than directly manufacturing cars. Advanced entry into the electric vehicle market will make Apple face multiple difficulties, including slowing demand for electric vehicles, increasing competition in the industry, a saturated market, high investment and risks, as well as the limited manufacturing outsourcing model and data advantages of Apple.
Analysts believe that canceling a project that may require huge investment and whose success prospects are uncertain demonstrates Apple's focus on cost control and financial discipline. Giving up car making can focus attention on areas Apple considers more important, such as generative AI and other high-growth areas, which is a wise decision because generative AI is more capable of enhancing Apple's moat than car projects.
Wall Street Watch noticed that in April and July of this year, Apple was developing home robots.
In April, there was news that Apple is researching personal robotics technology, which may become one of Apple's "next big things." Apple's engineers have been studying mobile robots that can follow users in their homes. Apple has also developed an advanced desktop home device that uses robot technology to move the display.
The news in July suggested that the desktop robot, a new category of product, will be Apple's first Apple Intelligence-supported home device.