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Apple's next big thing is ... robots?
Doesn't sound like much of a moonshot to me.
Lewis Wallace
April 04, 2024
Apple is reportedly considering placing its next big bet on robotics.
After pulling the plug on its not-so-secret car project earlier this year, the company is openly talking about adding more AI to its products. But behind the scenes, Cupertino is apparently weighing whether to go large on robotics.
The company already makes industrial robots that, for instance, rip apart iPhones to recycle the components inside. But the types of robots in the latest report sound much less ambitious.
Devices on the drawing board at Apple include a “mobile robot and a table-top device with a moving display,” according to a story based (of course) on anonymous sources.
The idea that Apple might build a self-driving car that would transform transportation got my juices flowing. It was a project that seemed ambitious and interesting, and played to Apple’s strengths as a creator of high-end hardware that runs on user-friendly software.
But a rotating iPad for FaceTime calls, or a glorified Roomba or Astro? I’m having a hard time getting excited about either of those prospects.
Lets hope Apple has an actually secret moonshot project we haven’t heard about yet.
Also in today’s newsletter:
Four dummy units show what this year’s iPhone lineup might look like.
A new price drop means you can get a 10-inch touchscreen to add CarPlay or Android Auto to your ride for less than $100.
On this day in 1975, Microsoft was founded. The company maintained a weirdly complicated relationship with Apple over the years.
— Lewis Wallace, managing editor
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
Tweetz o’ the day
Today folks learn if they were lucky enough to get a golden ticket to attend the #WWDC24 special event at Apple Park. If you won a spot: congratulations! But if not, there are lots of community events and meetups that will happen – it's fun to be in town anyway!
— Paul Hudson (@twostraws)
2:26 PM • Apr 4, 2024
Cats reacting to the cat face filter. 💕😂
— Figen (@TheFigen_)
8:18 PM • Apr 3, 2024
30 days of Apple Park, a (re)collection from Apple Park Book
Day 5: Today we conclude The Ring Building.
Learn how the ring building can survive a magnitude 8.7 earthquake & take a look at a beautiful drone view of the site when it was being built.
Check my profile for… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
— Luca (@jdluk87)
10:06 PM • Apr 3, 2024
One more thing ...
One of the things that really hurt Apple was after I left, John Sculley got a very serious disease…. It’s the disease of thinking that a really great idea is 90% of the work, and that if you just tell all these other people, “Here is this great idea,” then, of course, they can go off and make it happen.
And the problem with that is that there is just a tremendous amount of craftsmanship in between a great idea and a great product. And as you evolve that great idea, it changes and grows. It never comes out like it starts because you learn a lot more as you get into the subtleties of it, and you also find there is tremendous tradeoffs that you have to make.
Today’s poll
What should Apple focus on next? |
Results from yesterday’s poll: How do you share passwords?
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