Report: Apple prepping iPad-like robot for your smart home in 2026
According to Bloomberg, the company is moving forward with work on a robotic smart home device that resembles an iPad.
🦾 Apple is readying an iPad on a robotic arm for your smart home
📺 The device could resemble an Amazon Echo Show 10 but way more futuristic
💸 Bloomberg says Apple might charge less than $1,000 for it
📅 It could release between 2026 and 2027
Apple is reportedly pushing through with development of new robotic smart home devices that resemble iPads to some extent. That’s according to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg who shares that Apple could soon release a tabletop product that looks like an iPad but with a robotic limb.
The unconfirmed Apple device itself sounds pretty wacky, but also realistic to an extent. According to Gurman, the device will resemble an iPad and be able to tilt up, down, and to the sides to keep you in the frame and show you information from wherever you are in the room. The robotic limb itself is described as “thin” and controlling “a large display.” While it’s likely not a one-to-one ripoff, this description sounds similar to the Echo Show 10 from Amazon whose display can also follow you around.
Gurman says that the device is currently running a modified version of iPadOS, but that could change down the line. You’ll interact with it through voice commands with Siri, which will integrate with Apple Intelligence for a more robust experience. It’ll reportedly allow you to say things like “look at me” so that the screen faces you when you speak, as well as recognize your voice for personalized commands
iPad-like robot arm features
So, what would you use this thing for? Gruman says Apple sees it as a “smart home command center, videoconferencing machine, and remote-controlled home security tool.” If that sounds familiar, that’s because it is. We’ve seen these types of devices plenty of times from Google, Amazon, Lenovo, and more, yet none of them have offered the same “robotic limb” that Apple’s device reportedly has.
Price wise, it’s expected to cost less than $1,000, which means it’ll still be one of the priciest smart home hubs around. And if you think you can pick one up alongside your iPhone 16 this fall, think again. Apple isn’t expected to put up for sale until 2026 or 2027.
Apple has reportedly beefed up the amount of people working on the futuristic product and the suggestion is that “several hundred people” are now actively developing the device. Its codename, J595, was reportedly approved by Apple’s management for development way back in 2022. Kevin Lynch, vice president of technoogy at Apple, is the man in charge of the project, while HomePod development lead Matt Costello is overseeing the hardware side of things.
The shift in attention comes after the long-rumored Apple Car was officially scrapped within Apple, freeing up resources to develop other projects such as this one. As a result, Apple has started working on other robotic devices that can move around your home, including a “humanoid version.”