After giving up on making cars, Apple's next big event is brewing: reports say they are exploring home robots

The car-making project is on hold, and Vision Pro headgear struggles to carry the revenue flag. Is Apple planning to enter the smart home market?

On April 4th, media reports cited informed sources as saying that after Apple's ten-year dream of making cars shattered, Apple is seeking new sources of revenue and has set its sights on the home robot field. Apple engineers are exploring a mobile robot that can move with users at home, aiming to provide assistance, entertainment, or customized services for family life.

Apple believes that this new field can not only expand the company's influence in household consumption but also has huge development potential comparable to Apple's past revolutionary products such as the iPhone and iPad. Therefore, the home robot project may become a key direction for Apple's future development.

It is reported that these sources requested anonymity because this project is part of the company's confidential R&D projects. Moreover, these projects are still in the early stages, and it is currently unclear what strategy Apple will adopt for this, and it is uncertain whether the final product will be launched.

Apple Shifts Focus to the Smart Home Market

Sources said that before the car-making project was canceled, Apple told its senior management that the company's future would revolve around three areas: cars, homes, and mixed reality. Now that the car project has fallen through, Apple's first mixed reality product, the Vision Pro headgear, will take several years to become a significant source of revenue for the company. Apple is now looking for new growth directions, with a focus on the smart home market.

It is understood that the company is researching a mobile robot that can move with users at home, allowing the robot to provide assistance, entertainment, or other customized services in a home environment. Through this innovation, Apple intends to use AI technology to establish a presence in the smart home market and enhance user experience. In addition, Apple is also developing a desktop device that uses robot technology to move the display screen, providing users with a more flexible interactive experience.

Currently, Apple's internal team is researching the feasibility of this project, such as weighing the market prospects for its advanced robot devices and whether consumers are willing to pay high fees for such devices. In addition to market acceptance considerations, the technical challenges of the device are also a focus for the company, especially how to balance the weight of the robot motors on a smaller stand.

Furthermore, sources revealed that although the project is still in its early stages and there is disagreement among Apple executives on whether to push forward with the product, Apple has been conducting research and development work at a secret facility near Cupertino, California, demonstrating the company's recognition of the potential of robot technology and the smart home market. Apple's robot technology is jointly developed by the hardware team and the AI and machine learning team. Two executives responsible for home products, Matt Costello and Brian Lynch, oversee the hardware development work