Apple Will be a Leader in Robotics - Here's Why

A consumer robot would allow Apple to build an ambient computing moat that could last decades.

Hello Everyone,

These days Apple is caught catching up in Generative AI and having finally given up on an EV (it was too late), robotics is now again a hot sector and my question is will Apple become a consumer home robotics leader?

Apple’s search for a bold new product category feels neverending since the iPhone was developed and if the Vision Pro is not it, potentially could Apple become known for consumer robots?

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is looking for its "next big thing," and robotics are one area of focus. However very few details have been given and Apple is itself a fairly secretive company.

Apple could make cute robots of the Disney or Wall-E variety that have a screen, follow you around and are more like extensions of your iOS ecosystem no matter where you are. But there has been a lot of speculation and debate on what point or service such a robot would really serve?

Analysts and shareholders appear relatively skeptical that Apple can make this a real revenue source. However with all that they achieved with the AppleWatch, never say never when it comes to Apple’s understanding of what makes their consumers tick.

A robot could provide useful data points on their customers and enable more ambient computing in their real home environments, a space companies like Amazon and even Google might be after as well. Given the rise of AI in robotics, Apple might also not want to be too far behind on the adoption curve if the space heats up again.

While Apple's robotics projects are still in the very early stages, Bloomberg said it had already started working on a mobile robot that can follow users around their home and had already developed a table-top device that uses a robot to move a screen around.

Could Apple get into Senior Care Robots?

While a smart speaker is useful for music lovers, and earbuds with an upgraded Siri are obviously coming, a robot provides a level of companionship that some older customers might enjoy as they hit retirement age. It’s not what it can show on a screen that is important, but a level of even healthcare interventions and mental health checks that a home robot might accomplish for a user.

Apple has been getting more into healthcare in recent years. Apple does want to empower people with their health information. A robot could provide a modular interface with people in their natural environments, their homes. A robot can also become more intimate than a smart phone or an AI device that’s simply a small object with sensors.

Apple even made a report back in 2022 about their health enhancements to users:

It’s possible that a natural extension from wearables and spatial computing is actually the human interface between a person and their pet robot. The level of personalization that will become possible soon with Generative AI and on-device LLMs might be impressive for applications of consumer robots who can actually interact with us.

Apple could become a custodian and begin to own that human-robotics interface and channel.

Apple’s Ambient Computing

• MacOS

• iOS

• Apple Services

• Voice speakers

• Wearables

• Spatial computing (e.g. gaming, meetings)

• Robotics

Consumer robots could play more vital roles in the future in family settings as well. Hypothetically there’s more here than many companies realize and it all has to do with the growing capabilities of what Generative AI will allow in robot-to-human interactions.

• Health information

• Family Wellness

• Reminders and daily routines

• Mental health counseling

• Senior care interventions

According to the report, Apple is apparently worried about whether people would pay "top dollar" for the robots it has in mind, and executives still can't get to an agreement on whether the company should keep working on these projects. Adoption of spatial computing is hampered by a high price point for the Vision Pro.

Apple would need to put enough capabilities into its pet robots for them to be attractive enough to consumers which might take many years of R&D.