I have no doubt that Apple is exploring robotics, and has probably been doing so for years. Any major tech brand worth its salt has at least dipped its toe into the space, and usually found the waters too chilly or murky to trust.
Key Apple rival (and partner) Microsoft has dabbled in robotics since the late 1990s and into the early oughts. There were development kits and reference software and, I imagine, some big plans, but they ultimately went nowhere. Google bought parkour-capable robot maker Boston Dynamics in 2013, only to sell it a few years later. Amazon has an expensive robot, Astro, that no one, at least that I know, owns. Sony's AIBO robot dog lived, died, and was revived, but has never sold in big numbers.
