Apple may soon launch a device with thin robotic arm: Here's what everything we know so far
Apple Inc., seeking new sources of revenue, is moving forward with development of 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.
The device is envisioned as a smart home command center, videoconferencing machine and remote-controlled home security tool, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the work isn't public. The project — codenamed J595 — was approved by Apple's executive team in 2022 but has started to formally ramp up in recent months, they said.
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The shift into robotics is part of a broader effort to boost sales and capitalize on Apple Intelligence, a suite of artificial intelligence technology that's coming to the iPhone, iPad and Mac this year. The company also is seeking new growth opportunities after ending efforts to develop a self-driving car earlier this year.
A spokesperson for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment.
Apple's industrial design team has been exploring tabletop robotic concepts for years, but there wasn't consensus within the company — including the software engineering organization and marketing teams — over whether to move forward.
Apple's marketing group was concerned that consumers wouldn't be willing to pay for such a product. Top software engineering executives, meanwhile, fretted about the staffing resources it would require to build the necessary software. But Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is seen as a proponent of the device — as is John Ternus, the
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