An Apple/Tesla Robot War? Gurman Says Cupertino Is Making A Big Push Into Robotics

Apple, Inc. APPL, which is seeking its next big thing after its flagship product, the iPhone, is eyeing the rollout of a series of products based on robotics, Bloomberg columnist Mark Gurman wrote on Sunday.

What Happened: Apple’s self-driving car project fiasco may not be a total failure, as the technology behind the concept of the “giant rolling robot” that was the car could be applied to the other areas, said Gurman in his latest Power On weekly newsletter. After burning cash at the rate of $1 billion per year for about a decade, Cupertino shelved its Apple Car project as its focus shifted toward generative artificial intelligence.

The company began to mull over other products that can move around through robotics, said Gurman, adding that it is still in the early stages of figuring out how best to use robotics.

In the near term, Apple is planning to launch a tabletop device, codenamed J595, which will likely have a “large, iPad-like display with cameras and a base that features a robotic actuator,” Gurman wrote. He expects the product to launch in 2026 or 2027.

This will likely be followed by mobile robots and possibly even humanoid models in the next decade. Incidentally, Elon Musk-led Tesla is developing a humanoid robot called Optimus.

Gurman said Kevin Lynch, who previously headed the car team as well as watch software engineering, leads the robot project and works along with Apple’s AI chief. The company has hired top robotics experts from places like Technion in Israel, he said.

One key work in robotics is the creation of a personality, and Apple is working on another humanlike interface based on generative AI, Gurman said.

See Also: Everything You Need To Know About Apple Stock

Potential Use Cases: With robotics. Apple has set out to solve a series of first-world problems, Gurman said. Some of the use cases the Apple specialist mentioned include:

• Reaching out to one’s devices left in another room
• Taking photos of things or launching a videoconferencing session when a user is not holding a device or sitting directly in front of it
• Operating or checking something at home while being out of the house.

Gurman also raised the possibility of attaching a robotic limb to the iPad, which could make the device more useful for videoconferencing or browsing the web for recipes. Apple also has lined up plans to bring out machines that can do household chores such as loading up a laundry machine or scrubbing down dirty plates but those could be a longtime coming since these ideas haven’t gone beyond sketches on whiteboard, he said.

The columnist expects the project to get a boost from advances in the artificial intelligence technology. Apple’s expertise in sensors, advanced silicon, hardware engineering and batteries, as well as its ability to map the spaces around devices could also come in handy, he said.

Why It’s Important: For Apple, it could be a perfect timing to work on robotics, as hundreds of engineers with experience in in self-driving technology and robotic system freed up by the shelved car project could be employed to pursue the idea vigorously, Gurman said.

With a successful robotics device, Apple can be successful in the smart home market, in which it trials behind Amazon and Alphabet’s Google, he said. “The tabletop device might be the thing that finally helps Apple home devices stand out,” he added.

The Pushbacks: Robots are currently costly and most consumers may not be yet willing to embrace the concept, said Gurman. He also sees the need to solve technical problems such as having hardware that can successfully roam through cluttered spaces and navigate buildings with multiple floors.

Apple might also need more talent, including many more engineers, for the plan to fructify.

But Apple insiders feel there is a lot of promise in this pursuit. “If the company truly wants to find another way into consumers' lives, robotics might make the most sense,” Gurman said.

Apple ended Friday’s session up 1.03% at $226.84, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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