Apple Wants To Build AI Robots With Personalities To Solve First World Problems

There's no doubt that Apple would be ecstatic to find the next big thing in consumer tech. What that entails remains to be seen. It won't be an iCar, after Apple abandoned its self-driving car project, and the Vision Pro hasn't exactly taken the market by storm. That said, Apple is apparently looking at how to leverage robotics and it already has some ideas.

We reported on one of those ideas earlier this month—a tabletop with a robot arm that would be situated in a living room setting. The arm would be attached to an iPad-like display and would serve as a smart home command center, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Codenamed J595, it could see the light of day in a few years, with a $1,000 price tag.

That's not the only robotic solution on Apple's mind, though. In a more recent newsletter, Gurman says "Apple is still in the early stages of figuring out the best way to use robotics," and is aiming to "solve a series of first-world problems."

He offered up some vague examples, like needing access to a computer but being in a place where it's out of reach, whether it was left at home while you're away at work, or being left in a separate room (you're in the kitchen but your MacBook or iPhone is in your bedroom).

Other examples include wanting to take photos of launch a videoconferencing session when you're not holding a device or sitting in front of it, or operating a gadget or checking something in your home while you're out of the house.

Obviously these are things that a smartphone can achieve, but it seems Apple is envisioning something more. While not imminent, that could include a robot performing household chores, like washing dishes or doing a load of laundry.

The other interesting tidbit about Apple's interest in robots is outfitting the contraption wit an AI personality. Siri comes immediately to mind, though according to Gurman, Apple is developing something different specifically for robots, described as "another human-like interface based on generative AI."

We'll have to see if Apple's interest in robotics ultimate bears fruit.

Top image generated by Microsoft Copilot and Photoshop