Report: Apple is Exploring Smart Home Robots After Giving Up on Car Plans

After Apple has reportedly given up on its electric car ambitions after spending billions of dollars over a decade, the company may be ready to make another big bet. And if Apple was late to the generative AI revolution, the company could be seeing smart home robots as an area where its hardware and software expertise could make a difference.

A new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reveals that Apple engineers have been exploring two new smart home products. “Engineers at Apple have been exploring a mobile robot that can follow users around their homes, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the skunk-works project is private. The iPhone maker also has developed an advanced table-top home device that uses robotics to move a display around,” the report reads.

While the two projects are said to be in the early stages of development, Apple may see some synergies between smart home robots and the work it’s doing to catch up in AI. “While still in the earliest stages, Apple AI researchers are investigating the use of algorithms to help bots navigate cluttered spaces within people’s homes,” Gurman said.

If Apple still makes most of its revenue from iPhone sales, the company may see the smart home market as an important growth opportunity, alongside mixed reality. The company’s Vision Pro headset has been enjoying some momentum despite its $3,499 launch price, but Apple could certainly compete more aggressively in the smart home market.

Last year, Gurman reported that Apple had started working on two new smart home devices: A smart display that could be mounted on walls, similar to Amazon’s new Echo Hub, as well as a new version of the Apple TV that would integrate a smart speaker and a FaceTime camera. Again, Meta tried something slightly similar before (without the smart speaker component) with the Meta Portal TV, a product that has now been discontinued.

You may remember that Amazon has been making bold moves in the smart home market with its Astro household robot and its failed attempt to purchase Roomba maker iRobot. The Astro is still available exclusively by invitation, and it’s currently priced at $1,599. It’s unclear how Apple, which just launched a $3,499 mixed reality headset, could turn smart home robots into mass-market devices, but Apple’s electric car was expected to be priced at around $100,000 before the company abandoned the project.