Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple in Talks About Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
...and roll out with a different (proprietary) port- CarCharger 2- that requires an adapter (sold separately of course) to work with earlier iCars but basically pressing all Car1 buyers to "upgrade."
By Car 3, "thinner" drivers will demand thinner drivers. Else, I picture just a slab for the car and 4 wheels.
By Car 4, the wheels will be eliminated (sold separately as "car mobility adapters") so that "even thinner" can be achieved.
By Car 5, the box will be empty (but we'll still pay about as much as Car1 was priced) and we'll all actually be doing a "Forrest Gump"...
...but that box might still come with a Apple sticker to go in the (not actually there) back window.
After that, the sticker will be internally judged too thick and not make the Car 6 box.
I'm already buying NIKE stock in anticipation.
All
So thin - they would become this
Or they would become segways - but Tim will state that Segways weren't good for anything...
Apple just needs to invest in the Tesla Supercharging network.
There will be adapters for other standards, but they won't come in the box. You'll have to buy them separately for $29.99.Can't easily share standards and maximize profits on proprietary. I imagine heavily patented "breakthrough" charging solution only available from Apple and only for Apple Car... which means there will be places where you have to drive 300 miles out of the way because that will be the nearest charger compatible with your car.
Because that's how Apple does it.
Do they commit suicide at the end?
Funny enough, there was some kind of hands-free type charging solution I read about, it was just a speculative design, but it was very Magsafe-like. Basically you could back your EV up to a charger, make the connection using some kind of magnetic type coupler that was combined with a targeting system, without having to exit the vehicle (in bad / cold weather for example). I suspect there will be some kind of fully automated charging in the next evolution.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Like Jobs pooh poohed iPods with video until Apple rolled one out?
Or like how Apple pooh poohed phones with screen bigger than 3.5"...
...And then 4"...
...until they rolled out bigger-screen phones and sold more than ever before?
Yes, exactly.
[doublepost=1464197907][/doublepost]
Only $29.99 for an iCar adapter? Move that decimal point buddy (and not to the left).
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Then Tesla gets the profits made on proprietary. That might have been the old Apple. It's not the new one.
Going back to 1984... Why did Apple need to create a Macintosh? Plenty of IBM PCs out there. Just imagine what Apple will do to a computer...
Going back to 2001... Why did Apple need to make an iPod? Loads of mp3 players already out there...
Going back to 2007... Why did Apple need to make an iPhone? Plenty of wireless phones already in use by many...
Going back to 2010... Why did Apple need to make an iPad? Just a bigger iPhone, right? And MSFT already made a tablet in 2000.
Going back to 2015... Why did Apple need to create a watch? Tons of watches are made every year...
Really hope they choose the open approach and share with the market. We want (self driving) electric cars to be standardised and compatible allowing for really quick adoption.
Pollution and congestion would become a thing of the past much faster through intelligent cars and routing. Even more so if self driving.
Pollution and congestion would become a thing of the past much faster through intelligent cars and routing. Even more so if self driving.
Once the Gov't gets a hold of mandates, it will be 120v only, can not draw more than 3.2 amps, 90% of the electricity must be from renewable sources, and of course, we need to add a tax to the charging port, the amount of electricity used, how many miles you drive; along with additional registration fees, license tabs, addtional taxes for 'infrastructure' improvements, and the car must be 97.2 % recyclable, BP A free, and must be blessed by a Atheistic Vegan, because meat and God are bad. Oh, and you can not have any encryption to operate the machine.....
I copied the post from a headphone jack thread.
Accuracy is not expected here. Just the same pet peeves on every thread. The Apple car will just be an iPhone on wheels. We can't think beyond the present.
It's our fault for electing all the atheistic vegans to public office.
Though as an atheist omnivore, I can't think of any atheist vegans in high office. Who are they?
Exactly.
I'm fine with Apple making their own stations, but they should use a standard connection.
Tesla made their own connection because existing ones couldn't transfer energy fast enough. Apple shouldn't make a brand new, incompatible connection which isn't considerably faster. They should just partner up with Tesla to agree on a standard.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Well actually, while I have joked about it even in this thread, I actually LIKE the idea of Apple taking a crack at the automobile. For the first time in a long while, a rumor with legs is not basically scaling a screen size of something that already exists.
I've long suggested that Apple needs a "next big thing" that is NOT the same old (former) next big thing in another size. And I'm not the only one saying that. Going after a truly different "next big thing" presses Apple to innovate in entirely new ways. Whether we end up with a car or not, this is likely to yield new things that are not variations of existing things for sale now. Personally, I believe Apple needed to be chasing something big & bold like this several years ago- a close followup to the iPad success. But better late than never. Instead of persisting the ever-larger growth wave, this will have a good chance at reviving the record growth wave.
I see that as all good for Apple... and it may end up good for us consumers too. By 2020 or so when this thing may be ready to come to market, Apple's foray into trying to overplay Sony's "proprietary everything for profit" card might be about done and they might be humbled enough to get closer to their customers and focus more on delivering value that is tangible to US instead of the seeming over-focus on pleasing US (stockholders).
Put all that together and something could come to market that is good for consumers, Apple and AAPL.
Last edited:
I really hope Apple does not buy Tesla. I love Apple, but the last 3 years haven't been great. Tesla are actually like the Apple of old - super focused and making great stuff. I've reserved a Model 3, I think that an acquisition by Apple would not expedite that. Besides - are Tesla even for sale? It appears they are doing quite well alone.
Re: chargers. Agreed with the majority of people here in this thread: a standard has to be implemented. From my research, Tesla Superchargers are the best out there. They need to become the standard going forward. 20mins to charge half your battery is the only real way to do it. It can't take 5-8hrs if you are on a road trip.
I think if Apple went into partnership with Tesla to help build out and share their Supercharger network, it would be the best outcome for us all - while developing their own electric vehicle. The super-seceretive nature of Apple though, would limit their ability to do this up front while still working on their car.
Re: chargers. Agreed with the majority of people here in this thread: a standard has to be implemented. From my research, Tesla Superchargers are the best out there. They need to become the standard going forward. 20mins to charge half your battery is the only real way to do it. It can't take 5-8hrs if you are on a road trip.
I think if Apple went into partnership with Tesla to help build out and share their Supercharger network, it would be the best outcome for us all - while developing their own electric vehicle. The super-seceretive nature of Apple though, would limit their ability to do this up front while still working on their car.
I sure hope that if it pans out that Apple really is building an electric car, it goes better for them the Apple Maps has to date. Apple decided to reinvent the wheel with Apple Maps and here we are -- several years later -- and it is still substantially behind Google Maps in terms of practical functionality.
If the same thing happens with Apple's electric car and they're never able to catch up to Tesla, I hope they finally learn their lesson about reinventing the wheel unnecessarily.
If the same thing happens with Apple's electric car and they're never able to catch up to Tesla, I hope they finally learn their lesson about reinventing the wheel unnecessarily.
"It is unclear whether Apple would want its own proprietary technology, such as Tesla Motors' Supercharger network, or design a system compatible with offerings from other market players."
Well, if history is anything to go by, I think we know which way this will turn out.
Well, if history is anything to go by, I think we know which way this will turn out.
Yup, Apple would be foolish to have a proprietary connector, and I highly doubt they would. It makes far better sense to participate in open standards with regards to this. Be compatible, and then let consumers choose your device (or car) because it's better.
[doublepost=1464199803][/doublepost]What they really need are inductive charging parking spots... just pull your car in, and it begins charging right away. No charging stations needed. No connectors at all.
