Apple could be planning a surprise Amazon Astro robot rival for your smart home
Let’s be honest: Apple’s reportedly canceled self-driving car project sounds like it was a bit of a disaster. But don’t think Apple throwing in the towel means the company has given up on its moonshot ideas. No, if a new report is true, it looks like Apple is quickly moving toward its next big thing — and we guarantee it’s not what you expected.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark GurmanApple is working on a personal robot that could use artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to follow you around your home, perform useful tasks and be a general helper around the house.
Gurman says Apple “has teams researching personal robotics.” Proposed products include “a mobile robot that can follow users around their home” and “an advanced tabletop home device that uses robotics to move a screen.”
That second idea sounds a lot like the rumors about the HomePod with an iPad display that have been doing the rounds lately. However, Gurman’s report makes it clear that that is a separate device. However, it’s clear that Apple is seriously thinking about how it can integrate its products even further into your home life – including with an unlikely Amazon Astro rival.
Apple’s next big thing?
While these concepts may seem like something fantastic, Gurman has a solid track record when it comes to Apple leaks and rumors. However, these projects are reportedly in the early stages and may never see the light of day.
Apple’s ambitions for its robot project may also have been scaled back. According to Bloomberg’s report, the original idea was “a device that could navigate completely independently without human intervention – like the car – and could serve as a videoconferencing tool.” But a robot that can help you with your chores is apparently off the table until 2030 due to the difficult technical challenges.
With the discontinuation of Apple’s self-driving car, it seems the company is desperately looking for the “next big thing” that will continue this for decades to come. Isn’t the Apple Vision Pro the next big thing? Gurman doesn’t think so, if only because it is “expected to take years before it becomes a big moneymaker.”
So while we wait for the price of the Vision Pro to drop and the device to truly go mainstream, it looks like we might one day be able to get Apple-branded robo-helpers to do household chores for us. Now there’s a sentence we never thought we’d write.