Inside Apple's Slog to Create Its First Robot
Aaron Tilley reports, citing people who have worked on the project, that Apple's first robot, code-named J595 (a nine-inch screen on a swivelling arm, likened to the Pixar lamp), has been in the works since prototypes in 2018 and a 2019 green light from Tim Cook. Hardware has been largely finished for about two years, but software has lagged: the hardware team wants to ship, while the software team has spent a year stripping features back to FaceTime and simple home automation. Apple hopes to sell it for around $1,000 (possibly more depending on component prices), may call it HomeView Ultra (per former employees), and hopes to launch next year, though it could slip to 2028. New CEO John Ternus, once skeptical of the car and Vision Pro, is enthusiastic about robots, especially household-task robots, and attended J595 demos before taking over. The robotics group under Kevin Lynch has about 300 software staff (around 30 in research) but only about 10 'true roboticists', per one estimate. Departures include hardware leader Brian Lynch (to Oura) and robotics research head Jian Zhang (to Meta). Caveats: launch timing and the product name are not final, and Bloomberg has previously reported some details.
Why it matters
A rare inside look at how Apple organises (and struggles with) a new product category under a new CEO, with named owners, team sizes and talent moves to Oura and Meta. It updates Apple's people and strategy picture and gives context for Dealroom's consumer robotics coverage alongside OpenAI's io devices, Meta, Tesla Optimus and 1X.
Executive takeaways
- Project: J595 home robot, prototypes 2018, Cook green light 2019; target price ~$1,000; possible name HomeView Ultra; launch hoped for 2027, could slip to 2028 (hardware team originally planned 2026).
- Internal split: hardware done for ~2 years and pushing to ship; software team pushing delay and a narrower feature set (FaceTime, home automation like switching on lights).
- Leadership: John Ternus (CEO since September) is a robot enthusiast and took oversight of Kevin Lynch's Special Projects Group from John Giannandrea last year; Giannandrea left Apple this year.
- Team: ~300 software staff under Lynch, ~30 in research, ~10 'true roboticists' (one estimate); agentic AI research arm led by Vladlen Koltun (ex-Intel); robotics team allowed to use open-source and licensed Google models.
- Talent moves: hardware leader Brian Lynch to Oura; robotics research head Jian Zhang to Meta; early hardware led by Matthew Costello (ex-Beats); software once under Chris Saari.
- Other Apple robot projects: a wheeled follower, an indoor flying robot, and chore-specific robots such as clothes folding.
- Competitive context: OpenAI (io, 400+ ex-Apple engineers, doughnut-shaped speaker next year), Meta (Charm device shipping December, built in under a year), Tesla Optimus, 1X Neo.
What The Information may be missing
The piece doesn't quantify Apple's robotics budget or headcount trend, the bill of materials behind the ~$1,000 price, or which external AI models (beyond Google licences) power the current build. It also gives little on Apple's possible acquisitions or partnerships in robotics, how Apple's approach compares with Chinese home-robot makers, or how many more engineers have left to robotics startups beyond the two named.
