Bloomberg: Apple targeting sub-$1,000 price for iPad-like robotic home device

Apple is moving forward with its plans for home robotics, according to a new report from Bloomberg. Apple is reportedly ramping up its work on a tabletop smart home device with a robotic arm, which would serve as a “smart home command center, videoconferencing machine and remote-controlled home security tool.”

Apple’s personal robotics ambitions were first detailed in April, when Bloomberg reported that Apple was exploring a “mobile robot that can follow users around their homes.” Apple is also reportedly developing a HomePod-like device with a screen that can swivel like a robotic arm.

Today’s report focuses on Apple’s work on a tabletop home device. Mark Gurman reports that Apple has a “team of several hundred people” working on a “pricey tabletop home device that combines an iPad-like display with a robotic limb.”

The company now has a team of several hundred people working on the device, which uses a thin robotic arm to move around a large screen, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The product, which relies on actuators to tilt the display up and down and make it spin 360 degrees, would offer a twist on home products like Amazon.com Inc.’s Echo Show 10 and Meta Platforms Inc.’s discontinued Portal.

Apple executives reportedly approved this project in 2022, but work began ramping up in recent months. The work is being led by Kevin Lynch, Apple’s vice president of technology. Lynch also led the Apple Car project, which officially shut down in February after more than a decade.

Apple is targeting a release date of 2026 or 2027 for this tabletop home device and is “looking to get the price down to around $1,000.”

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