RISE OF THE ROBOTS

Apple robots are set to revolutionise the smart home

- PHIL KING

While the shuttering of Apple’s self-driving car project earlier this year was disappointing, the lessons learnt during its development may well prove useful on a smaller scale – in robotic devices for the home.

The first Apple robot is expected to be a tabletop assistant arriving in 2026 or 2027, to be followed later by a more sophisticated mobile droid. So could Apple reshape the smart home in the same way that it revolutionised smartphones, tablets, and wearables? The company’s move into robotics, combined with the power of its artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, Apple Intelligence, could transform not only the types of devices we have at home but also how we interact with them.

First up, the planned tabletop robot – codenamed J595 – is likely to serve as an Apple Intelligence-powered assistant that integrates into your smart home. Its likely design will feature an iPad-like screen on a robotic arm that, with the use of a camera and facial recognition, can swivel to follow your gaze. This feature could prove useful for applications such as video conferencing, always keeping your face in the frame, and home cooking, enabling you to keep tabs on a recipe as you move around the kitchen.

A fully mobile Apple robot is an even more appealing prospect. Imagine a device that not only answers questions and controls your smart home appliances, but also moves autonomously around the home to assist you. We can envisage it having a similar form factor to the Amazon Astro, a wheeled robot equipped with a screen, sensors and camera, enabling it double as a home security device when you’re out.