Apple is reportedly working on developing a new tabletop robotic device that could be available as soon as 2026.
The company's home robotics device, codenamed J595, is essentially a hardware manifestation of artificial intelligence, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"This would be a giant iPad on this robotic arm, or maybe better to call it robotic neck, and it will use cameras to sense its external environment.
And essentially, this iPad will be able to move around in space," Gurman told KCBS Radio. "So if you tell the iPad to look at you, it will turn around and move towards you. If I'm on a FaceTime call, it will be able to tilt its head and nod to match my head movements to give the person viewing on the other end a more physical idea of what is going on."
The device could serve multiple purposes, such as a smart home command center, videoconferencing machine and home security monitor.
"It's essentially a telepresence machine, iPad, entertainment device, smart home control center and home security device built into one for the home with a big robotics push around it," said Gurman.
Apple is looking to launch the device in 2026 or 2027 for around $1,000. While Gurman doesn't see widespread appeal, he thinks the robot is really just the beginning for Apple.
"It's a little farfetched to think people are going to want to pay top dollar for this tabletop device," he said.
"Maybe one day, 15 years in the future, there could be demand for mobile home robots. And so Apple laying the groundwork, placing some seeds in a bet that maybe robotics will become a major category a decade from now, I think is really smart," he continued. "At this point, they're a company that needs to place bets in multiple places and see what works out in the future."
The idea for the device was born out of Apple's self-driving car project, which was abandoned in February.
"The car project is essentially a gigantic self-driving robot. And this iPad on a swivel is essentially a stationary robot," said Gurman. "And so it's using many of the same technologies and same people that worked on the car for this device."
The device uses the same navigation technology used in autonomous vehicles known as SLAM, which senses the external environment and allows the robot to find its way around. If Apple can figure out how to harness that technology with the home robotic device, they could go back to working on their vehicle project -- which was expected to revolutionize the company.
"If you have a self-driving car, it needs to work properly and understand its environment 100 percent of the time because you're dealing with safety. You're dealing with machinery, essentially, that could unfortunately kill a person," said Gurman. "If you think about a robot in your home, you're using that same technology. But it's not such a high stakes environment going through someone's hallway or living room, right? Even if it works 75 percent of the time, it's still a good experience."