Coming in 2027: Apple’s $1,000 home robot for FaceTime and switching on lights

Apple’s new CEO, John Ternus, is apparently pushing the tech company’s development of household robots—and the first to debut may be a home robot designed to autonomously roam around while supporting FaceTime calls and switching lights on whenever a person enters the room.

People who worked on Apple’s robotic projects told The Information that the AI-driven home robot, code-named J595, could be named HomeView Ultra in line with Apple’s new HomeView stationary smart display. The company is reportedly aiming to launch the robotic product with a possible price tag of $1,000 or more by 2027, although development delays may push that back to 2028.

The earliest prototypes of the home robot first came out in 2018 and received approval from former Apple CEO Tim Cook to continue the project. The Information describes Apple’s engineers as trying to give the robot more capabilities beyond being a “fancy way to make FaceTime calls” in order to justify a high price tag, even as the team has spent years refining the software and incorporating more AI technologies.

However, the robot’s few reported features seem underwhelming so far when compared with existing smart home devices and systems, or even a run-of-the-mill robot vacuum with a clearer use case for households. Is there a market for a smart home device costing more than $1,000 that moves around while hosting FaceTime calls, automatically handling room lights, and occasionally ordering the family cat to get off the dining table?