After sunsetting its electric car project, Apple is reportedly looking to make smart home robots that follow you around your house.
According to aBloomberg reportby the trusted Apple analyst Mark Gurman, the Cupertino-based tech giant has engineers working on this brand-new product segment. The report claims that the company has already made an advanced home robot with a display attached to it.
Citing sources at Apple, Gurman says that the company sees automotive, home, and mixed reality as three significant segments of interest. After theApple car project was allegedly shelved, it is now looking to focus its efforts on the other two segments.
With theVision Proalready launched, the company has tested the waters in thevirtual realityspace. However, it is expected totake yearsbefore the company can turn the project into a mass-market venture.
That said, this smart home robotic project is still in very early stages and could be the company’s next major area of innovation. The report further suggests that various teams from Apple’s Special Projects group are involved in this new assignment – including the hardware engineering, artificial intelligence, and machine learning teams.
This isn’t a new idea
While we do not have exact details of the product that Apple is making, the report hints at a tabletop device with a mechanically controlled display. Whileprevious rumorshint that the company is also working on a HomePod speaker with a display, the report suggests that Apple executives want a display to mimic emotions and head movements while on a Facetime call.
This resembles Amazon’sEcho Show speakerswith a motorized display at the top. While it can track the users’ movements to ensure that the display faces the user every time, it is stationary.
Apple seems to be still assessing the future of such products, as the top executives at the company are unsure if users will be willing to spend a premium for such a product.
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Jitendra Soni was a Tech Writer on Dexerto’s UK Team. An expert in tech, especially smartphones, he has almost 10 years of experience. He spearheaded the TechRadar India editorial operations and has written for TechRadar, TechRadar Pro, Free Press Journal, Mobile Scout, IB Times Singapore, Indulge Express, and more.
