Apple plans to roll out a tabletop robot in 2027 with a 7-inch screen on a movable arm, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
“The idea is for the device to act like a person in a room. It could interrupt a conversation between friends about dinner plans, say, and suggest nearby restaurants or relevant recipes,” he writes. “It’s also being designed to engage in back-and-forth discussions for things like planning a trip or getting tasks done — similar to OpenAI’s voice mode.”
The “Apple Bot” (my moniker, not Gurman’s or Apple’s) will be designed to support FaceTime calls and sport a Center Stage-like feature for moving around to follow folks in a room, he says. Gurman adds that users may be able to control the robot with a joystick.
This report lines up with a “Power On” report from Gurman from February. The idea would be a humanoid that spotlights Apple’s AI and tightly integrated technology, he adds.
“Apple has advanced AI research teams within its larger machine-learning group focused on developing robotics technologies,” Gurman writes. “There’s also a home hardware engineering group interested in the space. In the near term, the company plans to launch a tabletop device that essentially attaches a robotic limb to a display. It would be a higher-end version of a smart home hub that Apple expects to release this year. There’s also exploratory work being done on a mobile robot — something akin to the Astro from Amazon.com Inc.”
Gurman adds that Apple is also working on a mobile robot with wheels and a large mechanical arm that could be used in manufacturing facilities or retail stores.
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