Apple is rumored to be tapping into the capabilities of generative AI to build a new 'personality' that could live inside upcoming robotic devices, potentially working in a similar way to how Siri currently operates on the iPhone.
That's according to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, who is one of the more reliable tipsters when it comes to future Apple products. Gurman has previously talked about Apple's home robot plans, he's now added more details about a potential AI assistant.
"While Siri is the digital assistant on Apple's current devices, the company is working on another human-like interface based on generative AI," Gurman writes. "It could run on the tabletop product and other future Apple robotics devices, I’m told."
Apple wants that tabletop robot – perhaps something along the lines of the Amazon Astro – to cost less than $1,000 (about £760 / AU$1,475), according to Gurman. However, it sounds like these robotic devices are still very much at the early stages of development, and there are no guarantees that they'll ever see the light of day.
Apple Intelligence everywhere
One vital piece of Apple’s robotic work is the creation of a personality. While Siri is the digital assistant on Apple’s current devices, the company is working on another humanlike interface based on GenAI. It could run on the tabletop and other future Apple robotics devices.August 25, 2024
What we do know for sure is that Apple is making a lot of noise about Apple Intelligence, the suite of generative AI features – text creation, text summaries, image generation, and more – that are making their way to iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers later this year, together with other major software updates.
Given that Apple is now fully signed up to next-gen AI, it makes sense that it would be working on a project like a new robot personality – one that would be more capable and more natural in conversation than Siri is right now.
That said, we know that a lot of the generative AI smarts on Apple devices are going to be powered by ChatGPT, at least for the time being. Apple clearly has some catching up to do in this area before it can launch a generative AI chatbot of its own.
Gurman himself says there's "a lot of promise" in Apple's robotics work, while also admitting "it's not clear" just how committed Apple will be to launching an actual home robot. Next up for the company is the launch of the iPhone 16.
