Apple engineers are now looking into a mobile robot that could help users around the home, according to “people familiar with the situation” who spoke to Bloomberg chief correspondent and Apple expert Mark Gurman.
Gurman also reported Wednesday that Apple engineers are working on a separate desktop advanced home device that moves displays robotically.
According to Bloomberg’s sources, the robotic smart display is “much further along” in development than the mobile robot, but work on both products is still in the early stages. It is unclear whether either project will be released.
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The news shows that Apple has been under pressure to find new sources of revenue, the report said.
Apple has reportedly told top executives that the company’s future is focused on three areas: home, automotive and mixed reality.
With Apple’s decade-long electric car project coming to a halt last February and the $3,500 Apple Vision Pro, Apple’s first mixed reality headset, hitting shelves the same month, the only category left for Apple to conquer is the house.
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Apple’s previous home products include the HomePod smart speaker, which sold 13.5 million units in 2022, according to Statista.
Apple’s first-quarter results for 2024, announced in February, show that the iPhone is Apple’s biggest revenue driver, bringing in $69.7 billion in revenue that quarter, or more than half of Apple’s total revenue. Apple.
In the smart home sector, Apple faces competition from home robot market leaders such as iRobot, Neato Robotics, Samsung, Ecovas and Panasonic.
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