Apple’s new focus post-Apple Car: Personal robots that accompany you everywhere
After more than ten years of striving to surpass Tesla and other car manufacturers in the automotive sector with its highly anticipated “Apple Car,” Apple has unexpectedly abandoned the project. The company had aimed to offer a fully autonomous driving experience, a feature not yet available in Tesla’s Full Self Driving (FSD) technology. This decision has raised questions about Apple’s future revenue streams, especially considering its recent success as the leading smartphone maker in the world in 2023.
But in recent weeks, details have emerged about a number of interesting Apple projects, including touchscreen Macs, foldable iPads, and even AI-powered AirPods. Now another Apple project has come to light – personal robots.
Apple and personal robots
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple engineers have been exploring plans for a personal and mobile robot that would follow the user around their home. Although plans are still in the early stages, Apple has already reportedly developed a tabletop that uses robotics to move the screen.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Gurman further suggested that while the tabletop is at an advanced stage of development, it has been added and removed from Apple’s roadmap over the years, suggesting uncertainty about its availability to the public in the future.
Development of the personal robotics project is led by John Giannandrea, director of machine learning and artificial intelligence strategy, in collaboration with its engineering department. Matt Costello and Brian Lynch are two other Apple executives involved in the project, who currently oversee the company’s home products.
This news reinforces claims that Apple’s future strategy revolves around three projects – automotive, home and mixed reality. Although the car project has already been scrapped, Apple has already released the Vision Pro as part of its mixed reality initiative. And if reports are anything to go by, it might also make progress on home projects. But is it in the form of a personal robot or something else? It is still unclear.
