Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) plans to expand its manufacturing operations in Vietnam to build the next generation of smart home devices, including a tabletop robot. The buzz is that a tabletop robot product for consumers could launch around 2027. Reports indicate the device will feature a 9-inch display mounted on a motorized arm capable of moving and rotating autonomously.
The device is designed to follow users or adjust angles during interaction, with the expectation that it will be ideal for use on a desk or kitchen counter to help with household or work tasks. The tabletop robot will use motors, sensors, an upgraded Siri AI, and the iPad-like screen to enhance interactivity.
A strong move by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) into a tabletop robot for consumers could have some implications for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). For starters, Apple (AAPL) is teaming up with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) rival BYD Companies (OTCPK:BYDDF) for the final assembly, testing, and packaging of the anticipated new smart home products. Notably, the introduction by the Cupertino-based tech giant of a product that moves physically would be the first of its kind since Apple’s (AAPL) founding in 1976 and could lead to other products that would challenge humanoid robots and other physical AI products for investor attention.
Morgan Stanley highlighted that Apple’s (AAPL) decision marks another ‘moment’ in the journey of AI getting physical. “As AI moves from the digital world (bits & bites) to the physical world (atoms and photons), investors can expect to see unprecedented examples of tech firms moving into the industrial world and industrial companies partnering with tech firms,” wrote analyst Adam Jonas. “In our view, the physical AI addressable market has the potential to exceed the size of global GDP ($115 trillion) by multiples,” he added.
A $3.6 trillion company with Apple’s (AAPL) resources and pedigree is seen as having the potential to have a deterministic impact on the world of robotics, which is an area that Elon Musk has said Tesla (TSLA) would be a clear leader in.
While Elon Musk is credited with being early in identifying the opportunity of physical AI and robotics with robotaxis under development for over a decade and Optimus for the better part of five years, Jonas said the secret is now out. “All Mag 7 names have identified robotics as a critical area of scientific and commercial development, enabled by genAI and accelerated by national security priorities and geopolitical competition. A firm like Apple getting into the ring on robots would mean another giant in need of world-class AI and manufacturing talent – greater competition for the most precious resource in the emergence of artificial life – the human brain,” wrote Jonas.