Apple may launch a $1,000 tabletop smart home robot as soon as 2026

In his latest Power-On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims that Apple is working on a tabletop iPad with a robotic arm that would serve as a control center for smart home devices. According to Gurman, a "team of several hundred people" is allegedly working on a new project, that would have multiple purposes.

Allegedly, the new product could feature an iPad-style display attached to a robotic arm. It would purportedly use actuators to tilt up and down and could also perform 360-degree spins. The report adds that the device will be "a smart home command center, videoconferencing machine, and remote-controlled home security tool."

Notably, Gurman has previously reported on multiple occasions that Apple has been working on a super-project involving home robotics over the last few months. He now adds that the company is pressing on its plans to build a home robotics device under the leadership of Apple's Vice President, Kevin Lynch.

Some sources suggest that Apple could introduce this robotic home device for a premium price of $1,000, with a potential launch sometime in 2026 or 2027. It is speculated that the device will respond to commands using Siri or Apple Intelligence features, such as "Look at me" to tilt the screen of the device towards the face of the user during a video call.

Bloomberg also adds that Apple is allegedly testing models that run a customized version of iPadOS. The shift towards robotics could be a part of Apple's strategy to boost sales and expand the usage of Apple Intelligence, a suite of AI features that will come to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac later this year.

However, there is a possibility that this could be just another exploratory project for Apple, similar to its ambitious Apple Car project, which may not ultimately be introduced to the market.

For now, Apple is preparing for the upcoming launch of the iPhone 16 series, which is expected to launch a few days earlier than last year and could also add South Korea to the launch wave to offset the lower iPhone demand issue in China.