Apple has delayed the release of its planned smart home robot until 2027 or 2028 because of software development hurdles, according to a report by The Information. The tabletop device, which pairs a display with a robotic arm, reportedly features completed hardware that has been ready for two years while the accompanying operating system remains unfinished.
Key points
- Apple has postponed its robotic smart home device to 2027 or 2028 after software teams requested more time to refine basic functions.
- The physical hardware has sat completed for roughly two years, featuring a nine-inch screen mounted on a swivelling mechanical arm.
- Former Apple employees expect the device to cost around $1,000 and carry the HomeView Ultra branding.
- Engineers have stripped back complex plans to focus on FaceTime tracking and basic household automation.
Software struggles behind the delay
The robotic smart display, known internally by the code name J595, was originally conceived to give Apple a high-end command centre for the household. While the physical structure is fully designed, engineers working on the underlying software have pushed to push back the target release date.
According to The Information, the software team argued that the platform was not ready for commercial release. Rather than attempting an ambitious automated assistant, engineers have “attempted to strip back some proposed features and focus the product on a few capabilities related to FaceTime and automating home tasks, like switching on a light.”
Teaching a robotic screen to respond smoothly to human movements in a room has proved difficult. The system relies on precise coordination between on-device sensors, computer vision, and physical actuators. If the software misjudges a user’s position or lags during video calls, the mechanical movement feels disorienting rather than helpful.
Hardware design and expected price
Despite the software complications, the machine’s physical build has been stable. The Information reported that the robot’s hardware “has been finished for around two years.”
The design consists of a nine-inch screen mounted to an articulated mechanical arm on a stationary base, recalling the look of Pixar’s Luxo Jr. lamp. Mark Gurman at Bloomberg first described this stationary form factor in 2024, noting that Apple wanted a desk or tabletop appliance rather than a mobile unit that rolls across the floor.
Sensors and cameras embedded around the screen allow the display to tilt, pan, and rotate. When a user walks around a kitchen or living area, the motorised arm keeps the display and camera pointed directly at them. That movement aims to improve video calling and make Siri interactions feel more personal, with the screen angling itself toward whichever speaker addresses it.
That mechanical complexity will come at a premium. Former Apple staff cited by The Information project a retail price of around $1,000, though component price volatility could push that figure higher. Memory prices and specialised motor parts have both fluctuated over the past two years, raising the cost floor for a device that already occupies a luxury price bracket.
Apple’s shifting smart home lineup
The tabletop arm is not Apple’s only planned smart display. The company launched its standard HomeView smart screen last month, providing an entry point for household controls, calendar management, and home security monitoring.
Code uncovered ahead of that release showed how Apple intended to turn stationary displays into active household sentries, including an Apple HomeView security camera mode that monitors empty rooms. Former staff expect Apple to market the delayed robotic model as the HomeView Ultra, sitting above the standard display as a luxury flagship.
By splitting the lineup, Apple avoids betting its entire domestic computing strategy on mechanical robotics. The standard HomeView provides an immediate competitor to smart displays from Amazon and Google, while giving the engineering department extra years to solve the complex kinematics and spatial models required for a moving screen.
What happens next for Apple robotics
Apple executives have looked closely at personal robotics as a potential growth driver following the cancellation of the company’s electric car project earlier in the decade. The home robotics group has explored both stationary robotic arms and autonomous mobile systems that could navigate living spaces.
For now, resources remain concentrated on stabilising the J595 software build. By narrowing the scope to core automated routines and FaceTime framing, Apple hopes to deliver a stable consumer release by 2027 or 2028 without requiring further hardware redesigns.
