Apple's future Smart Home Hub rumored with iPad-style display, and a robotic arm for $1000

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Apple has reportedly been hard at work on new robotics technology for a number of years now, with its new Smart Home Hub to reportedly feature a robotic arm, and an AI assistant with its "own personality".

In reports from earlier this year, a new video was published on the Apple Machine Learning Research website that showed a robot prototype that looked like Pixar mascot Luxo Jr, interacting with the researcher in a lifelike way.

Fast-forward to today, with Bloomberg insider Mark Gurman writing in his recent Power On newsletter that "there's Apple's push into robotics, which will include a tabletop machine with a robotic arm (building on the company's still-pending plans for a smart home hub). That would feature an AI assistant with its own personality".

It would be kinda cool to see Apple release its Smart Home Hub with a robotic arm and call it the 'iRobot' -- not to be confused with the Hollywood flick starring Will Smith. Apple needs a big market shifter, after its colossal failure in not even starting up its smart car, and its huge flop with the Apple Vision Pro headset. The company needs a big win in another product category, yet has also been struggling with everything AI and is behind virtually every other big tech company in AI.

• Read more: Apple prototypes tabletop robot: sits on your desk to help you out, with rumored launch in 2027

Gurman also writes that Apple has "other major new initiatives" on its road map, including a new product that will cross a foldable iPad with a touch-screen Mac, noting that it "likely won't arrive until 2028".