Apple may sideline Siri in its rumored tabletop home robot and replace it with a more human-like AI personality, says Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.”One vital piece of the robotic work is the creation of a personality. While Siri is the digital assistant on Apple’s current devices, the company is working on another human-like interface based on generative AI,” Gurman writes in the latest edition of his weekly Power On newsletter. “It could run on the tabletop product and other future Apple robotics devices, I’m told.”Siri has lagged behind other digital assistants. Apple Intelligence in iOS 18 is set to include a number of Siri upgrades, but not until 2025.After axing its car project, Apple sees the home robot as a new product category and source of revenue. It will have a motorized base capable of rotating the iPad-like display on top and a “thin robotic arm” that controls the screen, which can move up or down or turn 360 degrees.Gurman notes that Apple seeks to solve several “first-world problems” with this robot, such as accessing the iPad from a distance, controlling smart home appliances remotely, and capturing photos or attending video calls hands-free. Naturally, AI will be “at the core” of this and all other robots Apple creates in the future, he says. A capable human-like AI assistant or “personality” might just make the robot easier to access and more fun to use.
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Kevin Lynch, Apple’s vice president of technology, is leading the project, and Apple reportedly plans to launch its first smart home robot for about $1,000 by 2026 or 2027, Gurman says.The robot could help Apple compete with Amazon and Google in the smart home business, where Echo and Nest devices currently dominate the smart display market.
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About Jibin Joseph
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Jibin is a tech news writer based out of Ahmedabad, India. Previously, he served as the editor of iGeeksBlog and is a self-proclaimed tech enthusiast who loves breaking down complex information for a broader audience.
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