• Bloomberg is reporting that Apple has decided to scrap any of its long-rumoured electric vehicle plans in favour of personal robotics for the home.
• The switch is said to be driven by a desire to find more immediate avenues of revenue.
• One of the robots it’s looking to create would follow homeowners around their residence.

The dreams of driving around in an iCar or Apple Car are all but dashed, as the big tech firm has reportedly opted against an electric vehicle and will instead be focusing its attention on personal robotics for the home.

This is according to a report from Bloomberg (paywall), which says that the company is actively searching for new avenues that will generate revenue, and designing, building, shipping, and marketing an EV is simply too costly at this stage.

The report comes from Mark Gurman, who publishes a weekly newsletter focused solely on the goings on at the Cupertino-based company, so there is a high degree of legitimacy to the claims of a shift in direction at Apple.

As for what personal robotics will look like for the big tech firm, it is said that Apple has already dedicated some time to the technology sector, having kicked things off in this area at the same time it laid out its EV ambitions.

To that end, two robot projects are in development, with one being a mobile robot that would follow users around the home to assist when needed. While that does sound like the start of a horror film, it would potentially be of benefit to the elderly or those in need of constant in-home care.

The other robot is a tabletop device that moves a screen in the direction that its user is. The thinking here is that it would serve as a videoconferencing tool specifically for those who work from home exclusively.

How either of those two pieces of personal robotics would be less expensive than an EV to develop, particularly the mobile robot for your home, is unclear at this stage, but for now it looks like Apple is acutely aware of the fact that post-pandemic people are not commuting to the office as much and have chosen to work remotely where possible.

Personal robotics also appears to gel far better with the company’s spatial computing plans with the wildly expensive, but interesting, Vision Pro headset.

With Apple yet to officially comment on the shift in focus, perhaps the company will use the upcoming WWDC 24 event to detail some of its future plans in the personal robotics space.

[Image – Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash]
[Source – Bloomberg]