Apple eyes personal robotics in its quest for ‘next big thing’
Apple Inc. has teams investigating a push into personal robotics, a field with the potential to become one of the company’s ever-shifting “next big things,” according to people familiar with the situation.
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 a table-top home device that uses robotics to move a display around, they said.
Though the effort is still in the beginning stages—and it’s unclear if the products will ultimately be released—Apple is under growing pressure to find new sources of revenue. It scrapped an electric vehicle project in February, and a push into mixed-reality goggles is expected to take years to become a major moneymaker.
With robotics, Apple could gain a bigger foothold in consumers’ homes and capitalize on advances in artificial intelligence. But it’s not yet clear what approach it might take. Though the robotic smart display is much further along than the mobile bot, it has been added and removed from the company’s product road map over the years, the people said.
The robotics work is happening within Apple’s hardware engineering division and its AI and machine-learning group, which is run by John Giannandrea. Matt Costello and Brian Lynch—two executives focused on home products—have overseen the hardware development. Still, Apple hasn’t committed to either project as a company, and the work is still in the ‘early research’ phase. A spokeswoman declined to comment.
Apple investors reacted coolly to the news, with the stock paring earlier gains after Bloomberg reported on the robotics work. It was up less than 1% at $169.65 at the close in New York. Shares of Roomba maker iRobot Corp., meanwhile, briefly jumped as much as 17%—a sign investors thought it might benefit from Apple’s interest in the field. But the rally faded, and the stock gained less than 2% by close.
Before the EV project was cancelled, Apple told its top executives that the company’s future revolved around three areas: automotive, the home and mixed reality. But now the car isn’t happening and Apple has already released its first mixed-reality product, the Vision Pro headset. So the focus has shifted to other future opportunities.
Apple’s pursuit of the “next big thing” has been an obsession since the Steve Jobs era. But it’s become harder to envision a product that could ever match the iPhone, which accounted for 52% of the company’s $383.3 billion in sales last year.