Insights on Apple's Upcoming Home Automation Companion: Anticipated Launch Info & Pricing

Insights on Apple’s Upcoming Home Automation Companion: Anticipated Launch Info & Pricing

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Apple isreportedly working on a project to bring home robots into our living rooms and kitchens. But are these robots the future or just another rumor that won’t pan out? This article looks at how soon those robots could debut, what features they might offer, and what they could cost.

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What Is the Apple Personal Home Robot Release Date?

There’s no release date for Apple’s home robot right now, and that’s for a very good reason: It’s not at all certain that Apple will ever release it.

The company is always working on new and innovative products that never make it to market. One great example is theApple Car , which the company had thousands of people working on for years and thencanceled before it was released .

The home robot could meet the same fate or—like also long-rumoredApple Vision Pro headset—it could eventually become Apple’s next big thing. It’s too soon to say.

Lifewire’s Release Date Estimate

We don’t expect to see an Apple home robot for at least a few years.Maybe something debuts in 2026, but even later seems more likely.

Pre-Order Information

Apple usually announces a product and then puts it on sale shortly after. If Apple offers a personal home robot, expect the company to follow the same practice—but we’ll let you know if that changes.

Apple Personal Home Robot Price Rumors

Apple’s home robot plans are too early to have any price rumors. After all, we don’t even know whether the prototypes will actually turn into sellable products. If the Apple robot does get released, expect a premium price (this is Apple we’re talking about).

A good example of how Apple charges a premium price for a premium product is the Vision Pro headset.Meta’s Quest 3 AR/VR headset costs around $500. Apple’s entry into the market, on the other hand, costs $3,500.

Amazon’s Astro home robot , which offers some features similar to those rumored for Apple’s robot, costs $1,600. Based on the headset example, a mobile, task-oriented robot from Apple might cost thousands.

Apple Personal Home Robot Features

Because the rumors about Apple’s personal home robot are still a bit sketchy, there’s not a lot to say about the potential device—or is it devices? One thing the rumors do say is that Apple is looking at two potentially robotics-enhanced offerings.

Rumor has it that one of the potential Apple home robot devices could be Apple’s version of theMeta Portal orAmazon Echo Show . These are table-top, tablet-style devices with medium-sized screens that rest on a stand. They can be used to stream media and make video calls. In this case, the rumor says that Apple might build a device that uses robotics to spin and tilt to follow a user around the room as they move.

The bigger–and more exciting–rumor suggests that Apple is working on a mobile home robot that can navigate your house on its own and perform tasks (though what those tasks are isn’t yet clear). This sort of thing exists today—iRobot’s Roomba and Amazon’s Astro are just two examples—but we expect Apple would layer on its trademark thoughtful features and user-experience polish. We’re probably not talking about a humanoid robot; something like a mobile trashcan seems likely.

Any kind of home robot is likely to be paired with Apple’s biggest recent software platform:Apple Intelligence . Debuting withiOS 18 , Apple Intelligence is an Artificial Intelligence platform that performs tasks, provides answers, and generally makes users’ lives easier. We can’t imagine an Apple robot launching without it.

HomeKit , Apple’s smart-home platform, needs a hub to control the light bulbs, appliances, thermostats, and other smart devices in your house (theApple TV can play this role for many devices). If your Apple home robot can perform tasks around the house, it just makes sense that it could be a HomeKit hub to centralize control of your household.

The Latest News About the Apple Personal Home Robot

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