The Information's TITV
00:04:40 · Aaron Tilley, Akash Pasricha
[00:04:40] S1: Yeah, that's the big concern with people who worked on this project, the robotic arm, that the reaction will be pretty lackluster given like the capabilities that Apple will actually be able to develop for it. So I think this is a, you know, a growing issue for the company. The sort of development cycle for all these products kind of continue to stretch on and on. And when they release it, it really kind of underwhelms. I mean, I think in the case of HomeView, it's just kind of a limited product and the main interface is Siri, and that's like not very exciting for users these days to some degree. So I think I think it's like, you know, for Apple, it's just a challenge to develop exciting, interesting features, especially when AI is at the forefront of these products. So, you know, we're going to see other competitors come along with much more like capable AI, maybe not as polished and beautiful and well engineered hardware, but the software experience is going to matter a lot more here. [00:05:49] S0: So other than it being a cool product, why is it that Apple wants to get into the robotics category altogether?
00:05:49 · Akash Pasricha, Aaron Tilley
[00:05:49] S0: So other than it being a cool product, why is it that Apple wants to get into the robotics category altogether? [00:05:57] S1: You know, this is just like kind of I think a lot of the industry sees as the next sort of stage of technology. I think, you know, it's with AI and sort of the significance of AI in our lives, that's always like that it's really kind of through through it's kind of the next wave of that when sort of the manipulation and interaction with the real world takes place with these AI systems. So I think the whole industry is kind of seeing that moment, that potential future. So I think Apple's definitely kind of sensing that too, just trying to jump on board as well. [00:06:35] S0: And this line that you wrote in your story really stood out to me. You said, While Apple is a finely tuned machine at cranking out new incremental updates to iPhones and Macs every year, it is less adept at developing entirely new products, and the company has a longstanding tendency to move at a placid pace. I mean, this seems very much opposite to the identity of the company that Steve Jobs wanted to create in the first place. How is it that the company has landed itself in this place? And then to what extent is John Ternus really trying to change that about the company? Because you had some details in there too about how Tim Cook actually kind of threw him a bit of a softball here in terms of letting him release some of these products, right?
00:07:22 · Aaron Tilley, Akash Pasricha
[00:07:22] S1: Yeah. I think this is an issue that sort of has hit Apple over the past fifteen years, sort of like the increased bureaucracy, slowing pace of sort of new product development, particularly during the Tim Cook era. And I think Ternus is really trying to turn that around and really try to push the company to move quicker on new products. So I think this was a is still somewhat a product of the Tim Cook era. And we'll see if Ternus can sort of like push this company to the next gen next era of like quicker product development. But, you know, he's looking for the company to run more efficiently with smaller teams. But he's he wants the company to move faster. I just don't think, you know, it's been two months into his tenure so far. He has a bunch of products out in the past two months, and that's largely the result, as you said, as you indicated, with Tim Cook sort of like holding back on the release of these products in order to give Ternus the moment to announce a bunch of products at the same time. [00:08:33] S0: And so last question for you, Aaron. As you look at the competitive landscape here, so Tesla, and also we're going to talk with Jyoti in a second about Meta, is also looking to get into the robotics category, looks like. Tesla has been the lattice about it. I mean, do you think that they can be competitive with these companies, with Tesla? I guess that's a little further ahead. I'm thinking also of the of the companies in China that are way further ahead on robotics. Like, how competitive do you think Apple can be?
00:08:33 · Akash Pasricha, Aaron Tilley
[00:08:33] S0: And so last question for you, Aaron. As you look at the competitive landscape here, so Tesla, and also we're going to talk with Jyoti in a second about Meta, is also looking to get into the robotics category, looks like. Tesla has been the lattice about it. I mean, do you think that they can be competitive with these companies, with Tesla? I guess that's a little further ahead. I'm thinking also of the of the companies in China that are way further ahead on robotics. Like, how competitive do you think Apple can be? [00:09:06] S1: These sort of like tepid sort of like moves into the field of robotics, I don't think is a sign that they're going to be really at the forefront. I mean, as Apple... As always with Apple, they're always sort of like, we're not first, we're best. That's the attitude. So I think they're gonna be seeing... Watching what Meta and and and Tesla do in terms of robotics. And then if something really takes off, Apple will match it in a in a year or two. That's always been their strategy. I just don't know how successful that strategy is going to be given this is these are really soft. The software is so significant as part of the stack of these products and the AI, the AI systems. And Apple still really hasn't shown itself to be an AI company. Great.
00:09:06 · Aaron Tilley, Akash Pasricha, Jyoti Mann
[00:09:06] S1: These sort of like tepid sort of like moves into the field of robotics, I don't think is a sign that they're going to be really at the forefront. I mean, as Apple... As always with Apple, they're always sort of like, we're not first, we're best. That's the attitude. So I think they're gonna be seeing... Watching what Meta and and and Tesla do in terms of robotics. And then if something really takes off, Apple will match it in a in a year or two. That's always been their strategy. I just don't know how successful that strategy is going to be given this is these are really soft. The software is so significant as part of the stack of these products and the AI, the AI systems. And Apple still really hasn't shown itself to be an AI company. Great. [00:09:54] S0: Well, Aaron, want to thank you for coming on. That is Aaron Tilley, our Apple reporter here at The Information. Meta is working on its own robot as well, and that too, a humanoid robot, according to exclusive reporting from The Information. The company is already working on its second prototype, and it is working with a China based robotics company on all of this. I want to bring on my colleague, Jyoti Mann, who reported that story. Jyoti, welcome back to the show. It's great to have you here. [00:10:21] S2: Thank you for having me. [00:10:22] S0: Okay, so tell me about this robot that Meta has built.
00:10:22 · Akash Pasricha, Jyoti Mann
[00:10:22] S0: Okay, so tell me about this robot that Meta has built. [00:10:26] S2: That's right. So Meta has built a robot with the Fourier Chinese robotics company named Fourier. Its name is Max and it weighs about 106 pounds, it's five feet tall and it's currently powered by Nvidia's Jetson Thor chip and a separate software platform. It's also got like two speakers built into its chest and eyes and mouth on its face, which can sort of mimic human expression. [00:10:52] S0: That was the most descriptive description of a robot. I love it. I feel like Max is here with us in the room. What does Max do? Tell me. [00:11:03] S2: So currently, it can walk, it can talk, can move its arms around and sort of observe its surroundings. [00:11:10] S0: It's like you're... It's like... I feel like this is like a... One of those auctions, you know? You're ready to auction it off. I'll be walking through a little bit of the history here. Meta, have we known that it's been interested in robotics for quite some time? How long has this been going on for?