Apple Car: Present, Past and Future

December 18, 2022
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The automotive world is expectant and the Apple Car has been expected for a long time. At the moment, it is all rumors and speculation about Apple’s Project Titan, but even so, fans are looking forward to this new launch with excitement.

Among the “rumors” it is said that the vehicle will have an advanced driver assistance system capable of controlling it on first-rate roads, it will be possible to drive naturally if the occupant behind the wheel so decides.

Prototype image of the Apple Car taken from the internet

A recent Bloomberg article reveals that: “Apple has remained tight-lipped about how its car project has evolved. In 2021, it was rumored that he was using a limited liability company to hide the purchase of a former Chrysler proving ground near Phoenix, Arizona.

Who is aboard Project Titan?

“To help develop the car, Apple has hired Luigi Taraborrelli, a 20-year Lamborghini veteran. Taraborrelli was the Italian manufacturer’s head of chassis and vehicle dynamics, with responsibilities including the models’ suspension, steering, braking, and driver assistance systems.

Apple is also said to have been recruiting hundreds of employees and dozens of top executives from the auto industry and other related fields, such as battery development and autonomous systems.

Although at first there was talk of about 200 employees, it is believed that the project has reached more than 1,000 participants. Many of them come from companies like Tesla, Volkswagen, Ford, General Motors, BMW, Chrysler, Nvidia, Texas Instruments, Waymo, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and even Blackberry survivors.

What is certain is that this project has existed since 2013 and although the Apple Car has not materialized, the company has continued to evolve its CarPlay telematics software. The new generation, which was presented during the 2022 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, will be able to work on multiple screens, such as the infotainment screen and the digital instrument cluster, for example.

Apple Car Development Timeline:

2014 The first news is given about this secret project based on Steve Jobs’ latest idea: a completely autonomous electric car based on artificial intelligence. It is said that this Jobs project was really born as an idea in 2007, before the launch of the iPhone.
2015, the voices in the hall begin to filter rumors about the vehicle. According to data published by the Financial Times at the time, Apple was hiring automotive technology and design experts for a top-secret project.
2016 with new leadership, Apple shifted the focus of the project to self-driving technology, rather than developing the car as such.
2019, the project changed direction again and dozens of employees who had been working on it were removed. Apple buys Drive.ai, a self-driving vehicle startup, and hires several of its engineering and product design employees for its own self-driving car project.
2020 conversations begin with car companies and brands looking for the ideal partner.
2022 it is announced that the launch may take place by 2026, but without full autonomous driving. This is what the latest report published by Bloomberg details. The autonomous capability will be available at some point in the Apple car’s commercial life, but not from the start. “It is a significant change for the project.

About The Project:

This project is full of enigmas and rumors, according to the article: Apple Car: Steve Jobs’ 100% autonomous electric car, published in the media: El País Financiero, the following characteristics can be highlighted:

An iPad-like tablet could be in the middle of the vehicle and passengers could interact with it.
It is considered to make use of top-quality metallic materials such as titanium, as well as access to the car without keys through the iPhone.
Apple wants its car to be more reliable than those made by Waymo and Tesla, with redundancies and failure insurance to prevent breakdowns and accidents.
It will be a fully autonomous electric car that will not require user intervention to drive.
Rumors indicate that it would not have a steering wheel or pedals, although the inclusion of the steering wheel is still being discussed as a possibility for passengers to take control in an emergency situation.
In principle, Apple worked on 2 possible models. One with limited autonomous driving capabilities and another, with fully autonomous driving functionality that does not require human intervention, which would seem to be the one chosen to move to the next phase.
In addition, it would have much higher mileage per charge than current cars, thanks to a single-cell electric battery.
Apple is evaluating whether charging is compatible with existing systems so that owners can use a global network of chargers.
The microchip in the car would be the most advanced component and Apple has developed it internally.
It is basically made up of neural processors that can handle the artificial intelligence needed for autonomous driving.

Regarding the price, it is said that Apple hopes to position itself in the luxury segment, like the Tesla Model S, with a price of around 100,000 US dollars.

In this link, you can see speculative photos recreated by Vanarama

Is it true that the Apple Car already existed?

As a curiosity, we can say yes. Suddenly not as technological or exclusive as we imagine today, but in 1996, Apple (not considered the big one today) and the Renault brand joined forces and presented an Apple Renault Clio.

The alliance was not due to automobile technology, but rather an accessory issue. The Clio Sport or Clio S of the time included a PowerBook 190, a GSM mobile to connect to the Internet, and a side inlay with the rainbow Apple logo.