Apple 'Reboots' Self-Driving Car Initiative Amid Project Layoffs and Closures

[FlyingDutchMan_27]

Didn't they develop some other car technology like carplay? If apple's self driving technology will be as widely implemented as their carplay they might as will poor their research money down the drain. They can create great technology but if no car manufacturer wants to put it into their cars its going to be a waste of time, effort and money. So if they want to bring something to the market they better develop the total package themselves and not be depended on other car manufactures buying and implementing their technology.

Also making a totally self driving car is still decades off, there will be too many lawsuits stemming from accidents with self driving cars. Whatever they come up with will be a driving aid for quite a while before it will become fully autonomous. I do think there is space for an apple car, but maybe they better buy a car manufacturer and use their car platform to build on and load it up with apple tech. I do think the driving experience and esp. the tech experience in cars can be much better than it currently is. Tesla is leading the way towards it should be IMO. Apple can certainly follow and maybe improve upon.

 

[DakotaGuy]

I can't believe you got 12+ likes for this comment — Why? What's wrong with the iPhone 7? Is your beef all about the single Lightning port, and the headphone/charging situation? Are you completely ignoring the other tech that's packed into that amazing "fastest-in-the-world" smartphone?

I'll give them fastest in the world. Everything else Samsung has already done and wrapped it up in a more modern, compact and stylish package. Not only that they still give you a headphone jack and better water resistance.

Yes I know all about the Note 7 recall, but you know that'll only motivate them more. Things are going to get good for all of us in the smartphone world over the next couple years.

 

[VMMan]

With this change, Apple can still develop the car but not make the components, Apple can still design the car but not build it.

Car manufacturing is commoditized and easily outsourced.

Samsung will make the components.
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bet there will be no aux connector in that car

Apple's car will use proprietary windshield wiper fluid and tires.

 

[ipedro]

What happened to the Segway? Other than killing the inventor.

They're everywhere, except they're not called Segways. Its technology was the predecessor to the massive emerging market of self balancing "hover boards" that we're seeing now.

Oh, and Dean Kamen would be very surprised to hear that he's dead.

 

[dan110]

Samsung will make the components.
[doublepost=1473563637][/doublepost]

Apple's car will use proprietary windshield wiper fluid and tires.

No, no, no. You've got it all wrong. Wiper fluid is an outdated technology. They'll introduce disposable windshields. To help you with the transition away from glass windshields that have been around for over a 100 years, they'll include a set of the disposable ones free of charge! When you're done with those, you can pick as many as you like at your nearest Apple Store.

 

[Luscious]

This is why I have been laughing about all of these stories about an Apple Car. It makes zero sense for them to actually bring one to market. Apple doesn't want to produce a self driving car and deal with all of the liability and debt that such an undertaking would entail. Instead they want to help design the dashboard based entertainment system that will be inside of all self driving cars. That's where all of the profit and none of the debt and liability will be.

 

[1041958]

I'll give them fastest in the world. Everything else Samsung has already done and wrapped it up in a more modern, compact and stylish package. Not only that they still give you a headphone jack and better water resistance.

Everything else Samsung has already done? Pretty bold statement considering even the iPhone 3GS had something the S7/Note 7 still don't have.

 

[Bubba Satori]

No, no, no. You've got it all wrong. Wiper fluid is an outdated technology. They'll introduce disposable windshields. To help you with the transition away from glass windshields that have been around for over a 100 years, they'll include a set of the disposable ones free of charge! When you're done with those, you can pick as many as you like at your nearest Apple Store.

That's all very courageous and all but I've heard that they're
completely doing away with windows because, uh, they're windows
and replacing the windows with retina displays.

Stay tuned at 1:20.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Everything else Samsung has already done? Pretty bold statement considering even the iPhone 3GS had something the S7/Note 7 still don't have.

Do you really want me to make a list? OK.

-AMOLED displays
-QHD resolution
-Fast charging
-Wireless charging
-Edge to edge displays
-Always on display with notifications
-Expandable memory
-Water resistance and dustproofing
-Samsung Pay which works with legacy magnetic systems
-3.5 mm headphone jack (Which Apple used to have but deleted)
And more.

I'm sure Apple will eventually get these features and it'll be revolutionary and magical except the 3.5 mm jack.

Now I won't argue the processor in the iPhone 7 is amazing and iOS is a good operating system. It works well in my iPad, but if we are comparing hardware design and features Apple is behind.

Do you really want to argue Apple has a superior display compared to Samsung? I didn't think so.

 

[1041958]

Do you really want me to make a list? OK.

-OLED displays
-QHD resolution
-Fast charging
-Wireless charging
-Edge to edge displays
-Expandable memory
-Water resistance and dustproofing
-Samsung Pay which works with legacy magnetic systems.
-3.5 mm headphone jack
And more.

I'm sure Apple will eventually get these features and it'll be revolutionary and magical except the 3.5 mm jack.

Now I won't argue the processor in the iPhone 7 is amazing and iOS is a good operating system. It works well in my iPad, but if we are comparing hardware design and features Apple is behind.

That's your list? Where's the innovation in any one of those items? Meanwhile, Apple comes up with underlying technology that's truly innovative:

- First phone (3GS) with hardware encryption (S7 and Note 7 don't have this). That's 7 years ago and Samsung still doesn't have it.
- First 64bit ARM processor in the world, and Apple designed it. Nobody even comes close.
- Secure Enclave to handle things like fingerprint data and other secure items. Oh, ARM has their version, which is inferior and has already been found to have a security flaw.
- Custom image processing unit in their SoC. Fast enough to do 1080P 120FPS. No, Samsung doesn't have this either - their image processor/CPU isn't fast enough.
- NVMe storage. Samsung still using inferior UFS which was originally designed for digital cameras and MO3 players. Another reason iPhone has superior performance in any processor/data intensive tasks (like rendering video).
- Retina Flash (use the screen as an actual flash for front facing camera). And not just turning on the screen white (which has been done before), but measuring the color temperature of the light and flashing the screen with a properly color matched flash. Oh, and overdriving the LEDs by 3X the power to increase light output.
- Taptic feedback. Not the lame haptic others have used where they pulsed the vibration motor for crude feedback. But haptic feedback that actually feels like a tap or button click.
- Pressure sensitive screen (3D Touch). This is one I'm actually surprised that Samsung didn't copy for the S7. I guess we'll see it in the S8.

Anyone and their dog can make a phone with expandable storage, wireless charging, fast charging, OLED display or edge-to-edge screen.

And what's with the "Do you really want to argue Apple has a superior display compared to Samsung? I didn't think so" BS? I never even mentioned the screen, so why are you even asking me this?

 

[Jaro65]

Just returned from a road safety conference in Australia where autonomous vehicles were debated. I think Apple is wise putting its efforts into software and not hardware (yet another odd looking car). Half the cost of a new fighter jet goes into software development to cope with a dozen or so hostiles and friendlies. As a recent Scientific American article pointed out, coping with a typical road environment, and particularly crazy human drivers, will involve much greater complexity.
I did come up with an idea after listening to the difficulty of getting vehicles to talk to other vehicles and roadside infrastructure. Why not have a system where iPhones won't collide with iPhones (when they are linked to cars through CarPlay). It started out as a joke but then made me think...

So we'll turn a clash between iOS and Android into a crash?

 

[zahuh]

I can't believe you got 12+ likes for this comment — Why? What's wrong with the iPhone 7? Is your beef all about the single Lightning port, and the headphone/charging situation? Are you completely ignoring the other tech that's packed into that amazing "fastest-in-the-world" smartphone? And the Apple Watch... what were you hoping for? A round screen? Month-long battery life? Tech evolves.... if it was possible to give you a month-long battery, it would be there. It's just not possible.
[doublepost=1473540367][/doublepost]

The news that they've switched from building a car to building just the tech that can go into a car shows that they have some wisdom about the project. It's not an all-or-nothing problem... they need to find their best fit, and tech is definitely that. The auto industry is better for it, because Apple will raise the bar on user experience, whether they release any products or not.

Every 2 year is supposed to be a redesign.

 

[HarryWild]

Apple's prototype car looked like a 1967 VW van. No wonder all the hired hands executives jump ship! They can tell they are in a completely different idealogy.

 

[robbyx]

-3.5 mm headphone jack (Which Apple used to have but deleted)

Were you upset when Apple killed the floppy? Or the optical drive? Or the SCSI port? Or...

Seriously, this is such a non issue. Use the adapter. Big deal.
[doublepost=1473577881][/doublepost]

Every 2 year is supposed to be a redesign.

Says who?

 

[tripmusic]

This is no different than the Apple TV set hype. Their R&D is just doing what they're supposed to be doing, testing out different waters. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. It's a gamble, investing $$ into R&D and they've got the money to burn. I'm sure they've got even crazier stuff on the table that no one knows about.

 

[zahuh]

Were you upset when Apple killed the floppy? Or the optical drive? Or the SCSI port? Or...

Seriously, this is such a non issue. Use the adapter. Big deal.
[doublepost=1473577881][/doublepost]

Says who?

History? Why are you being difficult? Every 2 years Apple has always redesigned the phone. They didn't this year. It might be the worst 2 year update ever. How can you not see that? Too much koolaid?

 

[diamond.g]

- First phone (3GS) with hardware encryption (S7 and Note 7 don't have this). That's 7 years ago and Samsung still doesn't have it.

Encryption isn’t something I have usually included in my reviews, but given the titanic Apple-FBI battle now underway over the issue, I asked Samsung if these new phones were encrypted, like the iPhone (most Android phones aren’t.) Referring to both models, the company said: "Default encryption is turned on for Galaxy S7. Samsung cannot decrypt the user’s encrypted phones. The encryption key is randomly generated for each user and the key is protected with the user’s password."

We will see what Apple is looking to do when we see more of their vehicles on the road. It is the only way to get real world experience (like Google) dealing with us meatbags on the road at the same time.
Otherwise I wouldn't mind seeing Apple make an electric car. It would help get the other automakers off their collective butts and start making nice looking and performing electric cars.

 

[CFreymarc]

Elon was right! Think of all them fools who left Tesla for Apple! I hope he don't let them back!

The Model 3 is so far behind schedule, he has no choice but to swallow down some ego, get them back on board and finish up the job.
[doublepost=1473587859][/doublepost]

This new move makes more sense.

Why make a car ; develop the system then charge the Apple tax = profit

You can also say Apple "pulled a Studebaker" before even shipping this design.

 

[diamond.g]

The Model 3 is so far behind schedule, he has no choice but to swallow down some ego, get them back on board and finish up the job.

How so? We know the S and X were late, but is there proof the 3 is as well?

 

[Rogifan]

Mansfield was given oversight to do a nuts-to-bolts review and he did just that...and didn't take him long to determine that building a self-driving car was a bottomless money pit without knowing how much top-cover Congress was going to provide on the liability issues.

When he laid out the true costs involved, Cook moved quickly to scale things back...more in line with the company's core competencies.

We don't know this at all. If anything it sounds like software only is a fall back position in case an apple vehicle doesn't actually pan out. Since when is Apple providing software for somebody else's product one of their core competencies? First thing Jobs did when he got back to Apple is kill off the Mac clones.
[doublepost=1473592839][/doublepost]

There was never a plan to develop a complete car.
I said the challenges were difficult even for Apple. A phone is not a car.
They never confirmed they were going to build a car.

Because Apple doesn't confirm rumors.
[doublepost=1473593169][/doublepost]

I imagine a company like Uber in a three way partnership with Apple & a car company; where the car company produces the fleet, Apple writes the software, and Uber handles providing the infrastructure.

Uber is already working on self driving vehicles. Why do they need Apple?

 

[SvP]

Shut it down and concentrate on the core business that once made you the greatest.
This is like McDonalds going into house building.

McDonals provides fast, modular made, serial production and mass- fast "food" with high efficiency. All that while eliminating the need for any educated personnel. The shift into housing isn't that crazy.

Apple's core business is providing products that interact with people's higher/deeper motivations, emotion and senses like love for music, art, aesthetics while getting out of the way technology-wise.

The only way apple would build a car is if they can rethink the car (instead of making improvements to the car). You get to the point of self-driving very quickly. In most cases, driving a car is a means to do something else: visit someone, see something. Self-driving cars are the best solution to that, maybe combined with public transportation forms if the downsides of those can be overcome (loss of feeling safe, having to be focused on your surroundings... it's a very jungle-like environment, any station or airport). Law and the scale of it are the biggest hurdles for automotive.

 

[DakotaGuy]

McDonals provides fast, modular made, serial production and mass- fast "food" with high efficiency. the shift into housing isn't that crazy.
Apple's core business is providing products that interact with people's higher/deeper motivations, emotion and senses like love for music, art, aesthetics while getting out of the way technology-wise.

The only way apple would build a car is if they can rethink the car (instead of making improvements to the car). Law and the scale of it are the biggest hurdles.

Actually more of it probably comes down to return on investment. All automakers have terrible ROI compared to Apple. Even established automakers spend billions and billions simply updating a conventional automobile and then turn around and make a very small profit on each unit sold if they make one at all.

Tesla which was said to be a model for Apple has never turned a profit. GM relies on products like the Silverado pickup to support losses on a product like the Chevy Volt. If you really look deep into the auto industry it's a tough business. When your making money like Apple is why jump into something like that?

The sort of markup that Apple would need on a car to turn an iPhone like profit would be shocking. I understand it's common wisdom that Apple has customers that are rich compared to other brands of consumer electronic devices, but just how rich is rich? Are there enough people willing to spend $100,000+ on a car because of the Apple brand? Heck the biggest Apple fan I know in real life has a used 6 year old Toyota Corolla. lol

It was some dream Cook had and I'm sure more then a few board members didn't like the dream. Apple is much better off remaining a consumer electronics company. There might be an area outside of that to investigate, but automobiles are probably not the right place if they want to make huge returns on investment.

 

[Zmmyt]

That just means they finally made a deal with Tesla.

 

[apolloa]

Actually more of it probably comes down to return on investment. All automakers have terrible ROI compared to Apple. Even established automakers spend billions and billions simply updating a conventional automobile and then turn around and make a very small profit on each unit sold if they make one at all.

Tesla which was said to be a model for Apple has never turned a profit. GM relies on products like the Silverado pickup to support losses on a product like the Chevy Volt. If you really look deep into the auto industry it's a tough business. When your making money like Apple is why jump into something like that?

The sort of markup that Apple would need on a car to turn an iPhone like profit would be shocking. I understand it's common wisdom that Apple has customers that are rich compared to other brands of consumer electronic devices, but just how rich is rich? Are there enough people willing to spend $100,000+ on a car because of the Apple brand? Heck the biggest Apple fan I know in real life has a used 6 year old Toyota Corolla. lol

It was some dream Cook had and I'm sure more then a few board members didn't like the dream. Apple is much better off remaining a consumer electronics company. There might be an area outside of that to investigate, but automobiles are probably not the right place if they want to make huge returns on investment.

I'm afraid it's myth, marketing and Apple fan sites that have you believe iPhone uses are 'wealthy'. It's most certainly not common knowledge! I see far far too many children and none wealthy people with iPhones!

 

[Tycho24]

That just means they finally made a deal with Tesla.

Worst. Guess. Ever.