of Apple, Inc AAPL cash cow, the iPhone, is no longer the revenue driver it once was, forcing the company to search for the next big thing, Bloomberg columnist Marco Gumann said Sunday.
Robots on the construction site? Apple has “skunk work teams” within its hardware engineering and artificial intelligence organizations that are exploring robotics, Gurman said in the latest installment of his weekly “Power On” newsletter.
“A near-term move into robotics would be a device that Apple has been working on for several years: a tabletop product that uses a robotic arm to move around a display,” he said.
The arm, the columnist said, could mimic a human on the other end of a FaceTime call, “moving the screen to recreate a nod or head movement.” This device, however, has yet to receive unified support from Apple’s executive team, he said.
Gurman also noted a recent project involving consideration of a home robot. Some people involved in the project are trying to make a machine that can handle household chores, he said, adding that such progress, however, may be decades away.
“But with robotics and artificial intelligence advancing every year, there is still hope that something from Apple’s lab could one day make its way into consumers’ living rooms,” Gurman said.
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Smart home ambitions: Gurman said Apple has “big ambitions” for its smart home segment. The company has been exploring automation of home functions and a revamped Apple TV set-top box with a built-in camera for FaceTime video conferencing and gesture-based controls, he said, adding that the technology will work seamlessly with both the iPhone and Vision Pro.
One strategy is a smart, lightweight display, which would be like a low-end iPad and could be moved from room to room and docked with charging hubs placed around the house, the columnist said.
“Apple has begun small-scale test production of screens for this product, but has not decided whether to move forward,” he said.
“So for now, Apple will likely make more incremental improvements to its current lineup: new device sizes, colors and configurations, along with accessories that could drive more revenue from the iPhone,” Gurman added.
Apple closed Friday’s session up 0.45% at $169.58, according to Benzinga Pro data. It lost about 12% year over year.
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