Forget EVs — Apple’s new “next best thing” is home robotics: After scrapping last month their ambitious project of building an electric vehicle (EV), Apple is now moving towards competing in the realm of personal robotics, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. The tech giant is exploring mobile robots following their users around their homes alongside a table-top home device that uses robotics to move a display around, added the sources.

The company is feeling the crunch to find new revenue streams. Between canceling the EV project, and the long wait before the Vision Pro headset starts to generate substantial income, the company is dipping its toes in personal robotics to expand its presence in consumer households and leverage its progress in artificial intelligence.

Apple has been looking to land gold with a product that will ultimately match the success of the iPhone, which was responsible for 52% of Apple’s USD 383.3 bn in sales last year, Bloomberg says. The electric car had the potential of becoming that cashcow, with a c. USD 100k price tag per car — giving it the potential of having a much stronger impact on Apple’s bottom line than most of its other products.

But if the robotics push pans out, Apple could join other tech behemoths in the smart homes market, such as Amazon’s voice-controlled home robot, Astro. Although it's in its nascent stages, AI researchers have already begun investigating the use of algorithms to help robots navigate successfully around homes. The company has yet to commit to either project on a corporate level, with the work still in its early research phase, according to a spokeswoman who declined to comment.

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