Apple Car History - Where Did Development Go Wrong?

[Drisin]

I commented on Apple insider about this... Apple has let down its share holders and should face lawsuits! I commented On this year after year that this was a dead end. I also said that the Vision Pro would be a blip on the inventions because there is no software to support it. Apple’s vision of creating more chips but “crappier” software is just a losing proposition. It stiffels in ingenuity, it burdens technology, and it’s why the tech sector is just a gluttonous industry that should be broken up form three major players to 10.
Apple should be broken up from hardware and software, and phones should be able to have open markets to sell software.

Open market capitalism works well but monopolistic markets with government watch dogs going after the smaller business and Google, Microsoft, and Apple stifling the production is just a bad thing. So frankly I ‘m not surprised the car Was dropped. Not surprised that apple is moving more of its people out of California. But…. Apple should be fines because they continued to invest in a product that was always a decade away from materialization.

Apple will most likely end up like Boeing. Where Boeing use to be the end all for aviation it now follows the great EU and other corporations because it chose to stifle technology and not innovate.

 

[Drisin]

Lots of people really hate on Apple for trying something new here, but I really think Apple wasn’t crazy to try.

I think that in 2012-2014, the idea that a computer & software company could make a better car than traditional brands was actually not a stretch. Tesla showed it first by demonstrating that a car with well-designed tech was not only desirable, but highly in demand. With the industry on the cusp of upending its core technologies by abandoning combustion, why not give it a try?

Nobody does UX better than Apple—it’s the “je ne sais quoi” that keeps people hooked on iPhone even despite amazing advancements in android. The story repeats for all their products. Say what you will about features, bugs, and walls, their systems just make sense. It the root of the “…but it’s android” vibe that keeps people loyal—not their advertisements as some suggest.

Was it crazy for Apple to think they could apply that same magic to a car? Not at all. Was it crazy for them to try to be one of the first to market on autonomous driving in the 2010’s when everyone was so bullish on it? No! Was it a long shot? Heck yeah, but it was well worth a try.

Their biggest mistake was probably holding on to it too long; trying to salvage their progress so as not to waste it. In hindsight I’m sure they wish they dropped it sooner, but I’m also sure they’re glad they tried.

Ten years is a long try Don’t you think? I would appreciate more software that‘s compatible with other Operating systems than to deal with the shoddy software we have now.

 

[jakebrosy]

Where did they go wrong? Apple cars. Full stop.

If Apple wants to profit from autonomous driving, vehicle telemetrics, etc. pursue very narrow projects in those arenae. Stick to what you know and stop investing shareholder dollars in specious projects. When we are qualifying a new vehicle the lack of Car Play is a hard no.

I retired on Apple stock from the $11/share 90s. I love me some Apple. But for fargs sake do what you do and make me more money!!! Stop frigging around with dip-wad ideas like building a car.

 

[unchecked]

Well who was willing to pay apple prices for an car? and be locked into apple only service for any issue?

And remember you have to buy what you need from the start. You can't upgrade parts later.

 

[unchecked]

It's not about where development went wrong.. but where the industry went wrong.

We now have electric cars that are ending up as scrap... that completely negates any environmental positives.

The whole industry and consumers need to really think about this hard.

I know one person who has been through 4 electric vehicles in 10 years. It's atrocious, an environmental catastrophe.

Yep. EVs from tech first companies have this problem.

What I want to see are EVs from traditional car makers who hopefully understand what makes "normal" cars great: the ability to change and customise our parts, to be able to fix and replace parts that are broken. Cars made like today's tech is a mess.

 

[Kevin2055]

After spending a decade developing an autonomous car, Apple this week decided it was time to pull an AirPower and shut down the project. The Apple Car is no more, and Apple is no longer planning to release an Apple-branded electric vehicle.

The hundreds of engineers and car experts who were working on the vehicle will be laid off or distributed to other teams within Apple, including the AI team. The Apple Car is one of the longest running rumors that we've been reporting on without a product materializing, so we thought we'd take a look back at some of the key moments in the Apple Car's history to provide some insight into what went wrong.

2015 - Early Development

In early 2015, a van leased to Apple surfaced on the streets of Concord, California with LiDAR equipment on its roof. Apple had been using vans like this for mapping purposes, but the hardware looked similar to hardware being used by companies testing self-driving software. This one vehicle sighting ended up sparking a slew of rumors.

An imagined Apple Car concept​

That same month, an unnamed Apple employee told Business Insider that Apple would "give Tesla a run for its money," and Financial Times claimed that Apple was recruiting automotive technology and vehicle design experts to work in a "top-secret research lab." The Wall Street Journal then broke a story with in-depth details on the hundreds of employees working on an Apple-branded minivan-like electric vehicle.

There were a number of other key headlines and details shared in 2015.

• Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly approved the self-driving car project in 2014.
• At the time, the project was led by Steve Zadesky, Apple VP of Product Design and a former Ford engineer. It was overseen by Dan Riccio, Apple's SVP of hardware engineering.
• In 2015, Bloomberg said that Apple was hoping to produce the car by 2020. Later, the WSJ said it could be ready as soon as 2019.
• Apple was said to be meeting with Magna Steyr, BMW, and automotive companies as it sought a partner.
• The Guardian published a report that Apple wasn't just working on an electric vehicle, it was working on an autonomous vehicle. The report also said that Apple had prototypes ready for testing, which wasn't accurate.
• Former General Motors CEO Dan Akerson said that Apple was underestimating the difficulty of operating in the car business. "They have no idea what they're getting into," he said.
• Apple hired a ton of vehicle experts from automotive companies and from companies with expertise in autonomous vehicles.
• Apple's "secret" car headquarters were located in Sunnyvale, California, close to the Infinite Loop campus.

2016 and 2017 - First Signs of Strife Lead to Major Upheaval

The first hints of trouble with the Apple Car project surfaced in January 2016, with Apple Car lead Steve Zadesky departing the company. Around this time, Apple registered several domain names, including apple.car and apple.auto.

Former Apple SVP of technologies Bob Mansfield came out of retirement to head up the project, and under his direction, rumors suggested that Apple was focusing on an autonomous driving system with the aim of partnering with a car manufacturer in the future. Apple kept aggressively hiring, and at this time, split development into the hardware for the car and the software that would run on it.

Another Apple Car concept from Motor Trend​

With the transition to Mansfield's leadership, hundreds of employees were fired or reassigned, and in late 2016, there was a major upheaval. Apple "abandoned" plans to build its own vehicle and gave Mansfield's team a 2017 deadline to prove the feasibility of a self-driving system.

In early 2017, white Lexus RX450h SUVs outfitted with LiDAR equipment and piloted by Apple employees were spotted in the Bay Area, and Apple has used these vehicles to test its autonomous driving systems up until now. Apple was also rumored to be testing its self-driving technology at a facility in Arizona.

Apple at this time was also working on building an autonomous shuttle in partnership with Volkswagen to ferry employees to the Infinite Loop campus, but that was nixed.

Tim Cook made the unusual decision to confirm that Apple was working on autonomous driving. "We're focusing on autonomous systems," Cook said. "It's a core technology that we view as very important." He went on to say that it was the "mother of all AI projects," describing it as "o... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: Apple Car History - Where Did Development Go Wrong?

At least Apple tried. Pretty saddened to read the story.

 

[VisceralRealist]

“Apple this week decided it was time to pull an AirPower”. Please, stop. AirPower was embarrassing because it was an announced product that was cancelled; this is just an internal project that was explored and ultimately they decided not to go ahead with it. Just like dozens of projects we’re not aware of.

Yeah, I was going to say, it's not really like AirPower. Not only was AirPower announced, they showed off non-working prototypes at an event and continued to reference it in product materials right up until it was canceled. The AirPower debacle was one-of-a-kind.

 

[svish]

Very good article. Not disappointed with the news. Hoping to see CarPlay improve.

 

[quietstormSD]

It's not about where development went wrong.. but where the industry went wrong.

We now have electric cars that are ending up as scrap... that completely negates any environmental positives.

The whole industry and consumers need to really think about this hard.

I know one person who has been through 4 electric vehicles in 10 years. It's atrocious, an environmental catastrophe.

Unlike internal combusion vehicles that end up as scrap? The enviromental positives prove out after a year of driving the car in the most conservative studies, not articles funded by fossil fuel companies.

 

[quietstormSD]

Anyone that has used Full-Self Driving on Tesla's will tell you that the realities of full autonomous driving is really really hard. Especially because you have humans driving other cars and walk out into the middle of the road out of no where.

 

[milkrocket]

Apple should instead license out their software platform to other car manufacturers. Let others make the actual car

 

[DeepWebinar]

What’s interesting is that AI is the way forward to an autonomous future. If you’ve seen the Tesla software running on AI, and it’s only a year old, it’s mind-boggling.

yeah if we strap one overly hyped and wildly expensive technology that no one can figure out how to get it to work to another overly hyped and wildly expensive technology that no one can figure out how to get it to work that should do the trick

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

To me this story highlights the arrogance of Apple under Tim Cook - the fact they actually believed they could just waltz into the car industry and introduce a revolutionary product before all other manufacturers that have existed for decades and know vehicles better than anyone else.

And never forget, this is the company that charges several hundred dollars for a set of small computer wheels, which they believe is ‘value’…

 

[nikaru]

What failed is clearly the lack of leadership and a strong VP figure pushing everyone in the right direction. Apple lacked clear vision and plan. Yes, building a car is extremely difficult but if Lucid and Rivian have done it, it is obviously not impossible. Tesla plays in completely different category because what they have done is basically miracale. What Apple did is just trowing cash indiscriminately, thinking that having thousands of engineers working on the project, it will realize faster and better.

 

[yoak]

Just my own personal experience... many other people I know have had two electric cars in that time... and this does seem to be at odds with the idea you can have a car and have it last 10 + years

No matter if it is a single data point or not... this is not the way to go for a sustainable future.

People are continuing to treat their cars like other consumer goods... they want an updated model, they want the new feature, they want a new version.

And the cars that have been made, are just not being built to last.

My 2016 Hyundai ioniq is still running, and I’m pretty sure it will run for many more years. My friend is still driving his 2014 Model S. As another poster said, anecdotal, but I doubt people get rid of their electric cars like they do iPhones

 

[nikaru]

To me this story highlights the arrogance of Apple under Tim Cook - the fact they actually believed they could just waltz into the car industry and introduce a revolutionary product before all other manufacturers that have existed for decades and know vehicles better than anyone else.

And never forget, this is the company that charges several hundred dollars for a set of small computer wheels, which they believe is ‘value’…

I wouldn't call it arrogance, but rather having optimistic idea without clear vision how to make it reality. Apple focused on LiDAR technology as key tool to create and autonomous vehicle and this technology already proves that it is insufficient and inadequate to create a fully autonomous vehicle. Then the engineers probably went to Tim and said "We need to go with completely new vision approach (as Tesla does) relying on cameras and AI, and for that AI, we need a few billions to build a supercomputer to process all the data and do the training". That's when probably Tim decided that this project is eating money as a black hole and must be killed for good. I don't believe there was any challenges with the building of car from a hardware perspective. It is just an electric motor with a battery and integrated cooling system with heat pump. Apple probably realized that without a fully autonomous driving software, they can just build another EV, and there is no point in doing that.

 

[timber]

If I was a betting person I would say that Apple hopped on the self driving hype a few years ago and thought they could have something to offer turning a car into an appliance.
It's a bit un Apple. They usually have a good feeling for BS trends.

 

[gvanvoor]

They could have bought an electric car project and then tweaked it: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1141649_nevs-ev-designed-by-former-saab-engineers-may-be-revived

 

[AdonisSMU]

Cars are a dead end. Apple did the research and that is good imo. How many other projects benefitted from the Apple Car research. Tbqh, if Apple wanted to do transportation they shouldve started with a scooter or a bicycle. Then it wouldve been easier to transition over to cars.

 

[ghanwani]

Same as
AirPower History — where did development go wrong?

The bean counters at Apple realized the project would turn into the biggest dollar furnace ever and pulled the plug.

Instead they gave the go ahead for the $4k snorkeling goggles which is a smaller dollar furnace.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Apple should instead license out their software platform to other car manufacturers. Let others make the actual car

I wouldn't be surprised that a Japanese automaker or the Hyundai/Kia group is already "kicking the tires" on the technology Apple developed.

 

[msackey]

I didn't read most of the article, but I will say I don't like the framing of "what went wrong" approach.

Research development is research development. There's nothing wrong with an outcome of "let's not further develop this" or "let's not get into the car business". It's not a question of WRONG or RIGHT, or WRONG vs. SUCCESS.

 

[treacher]

Apple all over my everything! Apple in my home, Apple on my face, Apple on my ears, Apple on my wrist, Apple in my entertainment, Apple in my bank, Apple on the road, Apple in my food, Apple in my veins!

It doesn't hurt to try. Every single thing. Apple wants it all, ALL.

Smother me, wash over me with this overwhemling euphoria. I cannot abide anything else.

 

[Euroamerican]

^--- Just in your veins? I'm really disappointed there is no iColonic!

 

[No5tromo]

Not in the mood to read this long article but if you asked me guess a TL;DR it would be something like this: "After extensive market research Apple concluded that consumers are unwilling to pay 199,999 for a car plus 19,999 for each wheel while having to line up for 4 hours at their local Apple charging station (cause let's face it the charging port would be proprietary)