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Apple insider, Ming-Chi Kuo has uncovered that Apple is exploring robotics as its next big smart home investment. According to Kuo, this is in the “proof-of-concept” within Apple, so it could be years before we ever see it.
This stage, according to Kuo, is a “testing ground”. Rather than head straight in, Apple will attempt to figure out if its plans are viable before anything.
Apple is exploring both humanoid and non-humanoid robots for its future smart home ecosystem, and these products are still in the early proof-of-concept (POC) stage internally. While the industry debates the merits of humanoid vs. non-humanoid designs, supply chain checks…
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) February 12, 2025
This is quite similar to Apple’s attempt to make a car, which it scrapped in 2024. According to reports, the $1 billion a year development never truly got off the ground, and was canned as Cupertino pivoted to artificial intelligence instead. 600 people were laid off in the aftermath.
Kuo claims that we won’t begin to see any movement on this front until “2028 or later”. Unlike the car project, Apple has allegedly been “open about sharing” research about the robotics project. Kuo adds this could be to “attract talent”.
Part of this is a published paper, written by four of Apple’s employees. It digs into Apple’s view on robotics, with the potential for “non-anthropomorphic” robots being considered.
This flies in the face of Apple’s usual tactics surrounding secrecy. In a recent lawsuit, Apple demanded an ex-engineer apologize as part of the settlement.
The iPhone company appears to be investigating whether or not to pursue full humanoid robots, or this “non-anthropomorphic” style. For instance, rather than something like Tesla’s robots, the paper seems to focus on an arm-like appliance that would assist in the day-to-day.
Apple seeks its next “one more thing”
Apple has been looking for its next big product for some time. Under the leadership of Tim Cook, the company has yet to have its next breakout bit of kit. While the move to the M-series chips in its Macs and iPad ranges has been hailed as some of the best hardware available, the company has been criticized for a lack of innovation found during the Jobs era.
The major hardware release under Cook has been the Vision Pro, a mixed-reality headset using the M2 chip. It launched at $3499 and was widely panned for being far too expensive for what it offered.
Apple, however, has been putting resources into smart home ecosystems for some time now too. Baked into macOS and iOS devices is the “Home” application, which can manage supported smart home appliances, and the HomePod can also be used as a central base for this as well.
Featured image: Generated by Grok
