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Apple Reportedly Sent Team of Employees to South Korea to Discuss Apple Car Development

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A team of Apple employees that are part of Apple Car's development reportedly visited South Korea on a secret business trip to meet with. local companies, such as LG, the SK Group, and others, to discuss Apple's automotive ambitions and possible business opportunities.

Apple-car-wheel-icon-feature-blue.jpg

That is, at least, according to a report citing South Korean sources from Taiwanese DigiTimes, who claim that during their trip, the employees met with LG and the SK Group, a prominent South Korean company consisting of 95 subsidiary companies, to discuss the Apple Car.

The report says that the meeting was part of Apple's continued efforts to find partners suitable for joining its Apple Car supply chain. Apple is said to be actively seeking new suppliers and major business partners that will help launch its autonomous vehicle.

A separate report by The Korea Times cites a senior executive who said that Apple officials were in South Korea to seek "business partners in Korea for its EV business" and that "without partnerships with Korean vendors, Apple won't be able to complete its EV business plan." The executive said talks are "still in the early stages."

The report continues noting that Apple held "advanced" meetings with subsidiaries of SK Group and LG Electronics. Apple is possibly eyeing partners in South Korea thanks to its alleged plan to use lithium iron phosphate batteries in the Apple Car, which South Korean suppliers are currently mass-producing.

While Apple is seeking suppliers outside of the United States, the company is also reportedly committed to ensuring that the battery used in the Apple Car will be produced in the United States. Speculation may lead some to believe that part of Apple's goal in South Korea was an attempt to convince suppliers to build factories in the United States.

Apple has been working on its autonomous vehicle for the past few years, but it's not expected to be official until at least 2025, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Article Link: Apple Reportedly Sent Team of Employees to South Korea to Discuss Apple Car Development
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/08/09/apple-car-team-secretly-visit-south-korea/
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As cars become less mechanically complicated by employing EV drivetrains; they are becoming far more complex employing software, firmware and their remote sensors. Apple is on the right track. They may not produce an Apple branded car but Apple will become the "engine" that motivates future cars.
 
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Edsel said:
As cars become less mechanically complicated by employing EV drivetrains; they are becoming far more complex employing software, firmware and their remote sensors. Apple is on the right track. They may not produce an Apple branded car but Apple will become the "engine" that motivates future cars.
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That would be quite unlike the rest of their business though. Everything else is high margin consumer goods whereas becoming an OEM to other car manufacturers is the complete opposite.
 
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R1PPER said:
Apple is completely incapable of making the cost-effective car that the world needs. They are capable of producing an overpriced car that doesn't sell and is shelved a few years later at the cost of Billions.
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And I think that Apple can come in under the price of the Teslas and snipe them. There is room for a well engineered all electric car that would be at a price below the mid/high Tesla models IMO. Heck, Apple could come out with a car double the price of a Tesla, and it will sell...
 
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The problem with cooperating with Apple for a traditional car-maker are virtually the same as the problems Apple had with licenced" clones in the 90s: they skimmed off the the most profitable part of the market.

There's a reason Steve killed the clones.

It's easy to say, "They should have bought X, Y years ago", when in reality acquisitions aren't really easy - esp. in the automotive sector, where each company usually carries around a hundred years of legacy.
 
R1PPER said:
Apple is completely incapable of making the cost-effective car that the world needs. They are capable of producing an overpriced car that doesn't sell and is shelved a few years later at the cost of Billions.
Click to expand...

Yeah...just like Apple's music player and smart phone were overpriced and thus predicted to fail.

Yeppers... Apple, one of the most successful companies on the globe with 150,000 employees worldwide has no idea what they're doing.
 
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ducknalddon said:
That would be quite unlike the rest of their business though. Everything else is high margin consumer goods whereas becoming an OEM to other car manufacturers is the complete opposite.
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Aren't they kind of doing that already with CarPlay? If Apple decided not to build its own car, I would think a "self-driving" addition to CarPlay would be the next-best way for Apple to push into that space. Not saying that Apple is headed that way - at least the major car manufacturers won't outsource such an essential component in their bread & butter business - but smaller car makers that don't have the expertise or resources to pursue self-driving capabilities just might.

I think Apple will try to build a whole car. The alternatives smack of Apple's TV box "failure". Apple should have built an entire TV set rather than an overpriced add-on box that simply duplicates what other streaming boxes do (in some cases better) and new TVs have built-in. If Apple had built a whole TV set, it could have differentiated itself on the whole TV UI experience and integrated with other Apple hardware (e.g. built-in HomePod or even an AirPort router) and services (e.g. Music & Photos). Most people in Apple's target demographic want less wires and boxes under their show-piece TVs, not more. The same holds for an Apple Car: simply providing CarPlay - even with autopilot added - isn't allowing Apple's integration prowess to shine.
 
And 5-8 years later they‘ll add their iCar C1 to a legacy list. W00t? Repair? No way, too old!

During these 5-8 years, we will see stuff like:
  • Windshield replacement costs: 10k
  • Apple tyre that needs to be activated in FindMyWheels: 1000€£$ per tyre.
  • iCar becomes incompatible with iOS25 and doesn’t turn on anymore.
  • Firmware update breaks autopilot and drives iCar into the next lake. Apple downplays it with just 0.3% of iCars affected.
  • iOS falsely flags your photos as child porn and disables your AppleID making your iCars steering wheel becomes unresponsive while driving.
  • Your street becomes incompatible with iCarMaps, you file a bug to feedback@apple.com -> case closed: duplicate.
  • Apple reject repairs if your iCar shows evidence of crashes or collisions, simply because it’s too dangerous to repair the iCar due to the battery.
  • You’re autopiloting it wrong.
  • Tinted side-windows peeling off.
  • Battery draining.
  • MiFi enforcement of iPedal compatible shoes.
  • Multiuser subscription to allow iCar usage by more than one person.
  • iCar wrongly drives German user to Sweet Home Alabama instead of Home
  • MacRumors posting Deals for iCar Bumpers and Cases
 
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twolf2919 said:
Aren't they kind of doing that already with CarPlay? If Apple decided not to build its own car, I would think a "self-driving" addition to CarPlay would be the next-best way for Apple to push into that space. Not saying that Apple is headed that way - at least the major car manufacturers won't outsource such an essential component in their bread & butter business - but smaller car makers that don't have the expertise or resources to pursue self-driving capabilities just might.

I think Apple will try to build a whole car. The alternatives smack of Apple's TV box "failure". Apple should have built an entire TV set rather than an overpriced add-on box that simply duplicates what other streaming boxes do (in some cases better) and new TVs have built-in. If Apple had built a whole TV set, it could have differentiated itself on the whole TV UI experience and integrated with other Apple hardware (e.g. built-in HomePod or even an AirPort router) and services (e.g. Music & Photos). Most people in Apple's target demographic want less wires and boxes under their show-piece TVs, not more. The same holds for an Apple Car: simply providing CarPlay - even with autopilot added - isn't allowing Apple's integration prowess to shine.
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Isn’t CarPlay just projecting UI from your iPhone? Does CarPlay really have smarts itself?
 
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Rogifan said:
Isn’t CarPlay just projecting UI from your iPhone? Does CarPlay really have smarts itself?
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I don't know the tech, but my car has CarPlay and I think CarPlay is an API that the car manufacturer implements that gives iPhone access to some of the car's functions. Since I'm able to speak to Siri via the car's microphone and able to listen to Apple Music on the car's speakers, it's definitely more than just projecting a UI onto a car display.
 
Its never going to happen and if it does it will be a complete failure. Ive been a huge Apple fan for 30 years but the drip feed of intentional gimped hardware over that time has worm me down to the point that I now actually dispise modern Apple.

I could definitely see them pulling off an Apple car on every street that you share ownership of and is upgraded every few years...but not a one-off consumer purchase model. As its fine paying a bit more for a phone but scale that premium up into a car and it makes no sense.
 
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