Home robots are being considered by Apple as its next major product line

According to a recent source, Apple is currently investigating a move into household robotics, which may end up being the company's "next big thing" following the Vision Pro headset. The company's AI and machine-learning team and hardware engineering division are allegedly collaborating on the prospective new device. Apple engineers are thinking of creating a mobile robot that can follow users around the house and an innovative table-top device with a moveable screen.

Apple last year broke its four-quarter streak of declining revenue at the end of last year by reporting a two per cent growth in sales. But things are not going well for the makers of the iPhone. Its sales in China dropped from $23.9 billion to $20.8 billion in that quarter. iPad sales also dropped to $7 billion from $9 billion in the same quarter in the previous year. All of this puts more pressure on the publicly-traded company to open up new sources of revenue.

Introducing roots could potentially help the company to put another Apple device in its consumers’ homes. But even if the product becomes reality, Apple will not be the first company to develop a home robot.

Amazon in 2021 had launched a robot called the Astro, a screen on wheels that works with the company’s Alexa voice software. While the Bloomberg report indicates that Apple’s new product might bear semblance to Astro, it is not clear as to what Apple’s robot would look like if it makes it to the shelves.

While reviewers have branded Astro as a failure, other home robots have found widespread success. Roomba, a series of home cleaning robots from the company iRobot, finds itself in more than 40 million homes, at least according to the company’s claims. Interestingly, Amazon tried to acquire iRobot until both companies had to walk away from the deal due to regulatory issues.

That aside, the Apple Vision Pro, the company’s newest product offering that serves as the vanguard of its ambitions to enter the virtual reality/ augmented reality market, has been a relative success.