Rumor has it that Apple is looking to harness the capabilities of generative AI to create a new “personality” that could live in future robotic devices, potentially working in a similar way to how Siri currently works on the iPhone.
That’s what Mark Gurman says on Bloombergwho is one of the most reliable tipsters when it comes to future Apple products. Gurman has previously talked about Apple’s plans for a home robot, now he’s added more details about a potential AI assistant.
“While Siri is the digital assistant on Apple’s current devices, the company is working on another human-like interface based on generative AI,” Gurman writes. “It could run on the tabletop product and other future Apple robotics devices, I’m told.”
Apple wants that tabletop robot – perhaps something along the lines of the Amazon Astro – to cost less than $1,000 (around £760 / AU$1,475), Gurman said. However, it appears these robotic devices are still in the early stages of development, and there’s no guarantee they’ll ever see the light of day.
Apple Intelligence Everywhere
A key part of Apple’s robotics work is the creation of a personality. While Siri is the digital assistant on Apple’s current devices, the company is working on another human-like interface based on GenAI. It could run on the Tabletop and other future Apple robotics devices.August 25, 2024
What we do know for sure is that Apple is making a big fuss about Apple Intelligence, the suite of generative AI features (text creation, text summarization, image generation, and more) coming to iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers later this year, along with other major software updates.
Now that Apple is fully committed to the next generation of AI, it makes sense that the company would be working on a project like a new robot personality — one that would be more capable and natural in conversation than Siri currently is.
That said, we do know that much of the generative AI intelligence on Apple devices will be powered by ChatGPT, at least for now. Apple clearly has some catching up to do in this area before it can launch its own generative AI chatbot.
Gurman himself says there’s “a lot of promise” in Apple’s robotics work, but admits that “it’s not clear” how committed Apple will be to launching a true home robot. The next thing the company wants to do is launch the iPhone 16.