Apple Inc. is reportedly planning to enter the home robotics market as part of plans to introduce a range of new devices in the coming years as the once-great innovator continues to fall behind in areas such as artificial intelligence.

Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, referencing people with knowledge of the matter, reports that a tabletop robot that serves as a virtual companion is being targeted by Apple for a 2027 release and will be the centerpiece of the company’s new AI strategy. Other new devices planned are said to include a smart speaker with a display and longer term, a wheeled/humanoid robot.

Reports that Apple was working on robots first emerged in April 2024 when it was reported that the company was developing an advanced tabletop home device that uses robotics to move a display around. In August last year, more details emerged about the tabletop device, including that it combines an iPad-like display with a robotic arm.

The robotic arm device would appear to be what’s coming first. Gurman described the device as a tabletop robot resembling an iPad mounted on a movable limb that can swivel and reposition itself to follow users in a room. The display itself is said to act like a human head in that it can turn toward a person who is speaking or summoning it and can even seek to draw the attention of someone not facing it.

FaceTime calls are reportedly a key function of the device and during videoconferencing, the display will be able to shift to lock on to people around a room. Apple is also apparently testing a feature that turns an iPhone screen into a joystick, letting users move the robot around to show different people or items in a room during video calls.

The new device will be underpinned by a new version of Apple’s Siri voice assistant that can inject itself into conversations and can engage users through the day. The idea, according to Gurman, is to “act like a person in a room.”

Along with what Apple insiders are reportedly calling the “Pixar Lamp,” Apple is also said to be developing a standalone display/smart speaker, code-named J490, that is a stripped-down variant of the robot that will offer home control, music playback, note taking, web browsing and video conferencing, but without a robotic arm.

Notably, both the robotic arm and smart display will run a new operating system called Charismatic that is centered on clock faces and widgets.

The ideas, while maybe slightly out there, need a functional AI to run, something Apple has been seriously lacking. But apparently the company is building a new AI code-named Linwood, also known internally as “LLM Siri,” to power the devices. LLM Siri could also find its way into new model iPhones and iPads as early as next year.

Longer-term, Apple is still reportedly developing several other robots, including a mobile robot with wheels, although any such device is still several years away.

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