Apple is reportedly eyeing personal robots that may follow a person around the house, reports Bloomberg. The new report comes weeks after the company gave up on its electric vehicle project. But one has to remember that many big electronic companies are working on robots and many of these projects may not even get unveiled for the general public.
The rumoured project involves several pieces, including a home robot that could follow a person around the home. But that’s in the distant future, probably even a decade. A “nearer-term move into robotics” would be a device Apple has been working on for several years: a tabletop product that uses a robotic arm to move around a display.
The screen would reportedly turn to face users while on a call and could mimic human gestures by nodding or shaking the screen when the person on the other end of the call does so. Bloomberg notes that this device too doesn’t have unified support from Apple’s executive team. Amazon, on the other hand, has already dived into the category with its Astro home robot.
Be it robots or something else, it’s clear that Apple is keen on pursuing projects that involve artificial intelligence. The company is expected to make quite a few big announcements around generative AI this year at WWDC on June 10 with many of the features coming with the next generation iPhones later this year. Apple is already on the projected path with the launch of Vision Pro spatial computing headset.
Apple has started earning more money from online services and other offerings but it remains a device company with the iPhone, iPad, Mac, AppleWatch and AirPods bringing in bulk of its funds.
At the moment, many are hoping for a new iPad. Bloomberg says it may happen in early May. The company may release a revamped iPad Pro, an iPad Air, a fresh Magic Keyboard and an Apple Pencil.
This will not be an ordinary iPad Pro; it will come with OLED. Both the 11-inch and 13-inch versions are expected to get the better screen, and Apple is apparently releasing more laptop-like aluminum Magic Keyboards for them. The iPad Air (coming in two sizes) is expected to feature the M2 processor.
This is the first time Apple will move its tablet screen over to OLED, which takes the experience to a new level, but probably at a higher price. The OLED experience is what iPhone users have become accustomed to since 2017. Apple could also be working on new versions of the low-end iPad and iPad Mini, but those may come only at the end of the year.
Going beyond the year or maybe three, Apple engineers are exploring foldable iPads. The big challenge is to come up with a display that folds without a crease, which is seen on similar devices from several Android companies.
