TechHome reported on February 12 that Ming-Chi Kuo posted on X, stating that Apple is exploring humanoid and non-humanoid robot projects for its future smart home ecosystem), but these internal products are still in the early proof-of-concept (POC) phase.
While the industry debates the merits of humanoid versus non-humanoid designs, supply chain research suggests that Apple is more focused on how users interact with robots rather than their appearance, indicating that sensor hardware and software are the core technologies.
Given the current progress and the development cycle of large projects, Kuo believes that Apple's robots are not likely to enter mass production until 2028 or later. However, Apple is willing to share some of its robotics research findings during the early POC stage, which he speculates may be a strategy to attract talent.
As Kuo mentioned, previous leaks about Apple's new products have typically centered around stages like NPI (New Product Introduction), EVT (Engineering Validation Test), and MP (Mass Production), but the often-overlooked POC stage is where Apple tests the viability of product concepts and core technologies before project initiation.
He noted that the rumored Apple foldable screen phone is also in the POC stage, and many projects have failed at this stage, such as the well-known Apple Car project, which was confirmed to be canceled last February after more than a decade since its inception.
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