Apple Seen in Vehicle Supply Chains, but It May Be Exploring Taxi Service or Car Platform Instead

[1258186]

Leasing/buying a car is the worst expense almost everyone endures. You pay so much for something that depreciates. You pay interest on something that depreciates. You pay insurance on something that depreciates. Think how much further retirement funds would be without car expense. Looking forward to a car service.

Car services or car sharing already exist but they have not become mainstream. I can see the attraction if you live in big city with difficulty parking and only need the car occasionally. Outside of that sphere it’s not logistically viable.

Also, who wants to share a car with Covid concerns likely to hang around for years. Who is going to sanitise the car after every user.

 

[macsimcon]

This is what I have always thought Apple was going to do. I don’t think they’re interested in selling cars and building the infrastructure to support them for each customer for 20+ years. They’re interested in printing money by beating Uber to a self driving taxi service that actually has its cost paid by the users and not venture capitalist speculation.

I've been thinking this as well, but Apple doesn't like businesses with huge liability. Why doesn't iCloud back up your Macs's data? Liability. Having a self-driving fleet of hundreds of thousands of self-driving cars could double Apple's revenue, but the liability would be enormous...and essentially unlimited. Nobody has yet developed a true level five autonomous car, and I've seen some computer scientists who doubt such a feat is even possible.

Moreover, no state yet allows autonomous cars, and I don't know that Congress would ever pass a national law allowing them without some heavy lobbying from Apple.

Maybe Apple is playing the long-game here, planning on introducing a taxi fleet in ten years?

I would love to summon an Apple Car for taking the kids to school, or going to the store, or to work, but it would take years of accident-free operation before I would trust it.

 

[tongxinshe]

In this realm, Google is 3-5 years ahead of any other company.

 

[1258186]

If Apple makes a car, it will be a standalone electric vehicle that you can purchase. That’s how Apple does it. They sell premium hardware. The Tesla model has been a success, the issue has been manufacturing, which won’t be a problem for Apple, since they’ll contract it out. Foxconn is starting an EV manufacturing business, who better to partner with Apple than their longtime iPhone assembler?

The real question is if Apple even wants to be in the car business at all, given how different it is from their core market. But if they did want to enter it, they would surely make a standalone vehicle with an excellent in-car infotainment system and probably a few killer features. (That feature will not be autonomy. It’s not coming anytime soon, if ever.)

Has Tesla been a success. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy before its share price skyrocketed for no reason. They have tiny market share despite little or no competition for years. Now every car maker has a range of EVs. They make little or no profit. I would be glad to see Tesla fade away into obscurity and wipe the smile off that smug SOB Musk.

 

[1258186]

Why doesn't iCloud back up your Macs's data? Liability.

This is news to me. I use iCloud to backup all my Apple devices. Am I missing something?

 

[Localcelebrity]

This is news to me. I use iCloud to backup all my Apple devices. Am I missing something?

Going all-in on iCloud Documents doesn't count as a 'backup.'

But also, your point still kinda negates their liability one.

 

[WLSON]

Apple is never going to be a piece of technology inside someone else’s product.

They already do, it's called Apple CarPlay.

 

[radiologyman]

Along with Android auto, CarPlay is becoming standard in vehicles. I think Apple is planning to expand its software and hardware offerings to automakers but not make entire cars. There are upcoming huge AI and augmented reality markets and Apple knows cars will be big part of it.

 

[1258186]

Going all-in on iCloud Documents doesn't count as a 'backup.'

I don’t understand. On my iPhone & iPad is says “backup to iCloud”. How is this not a backup?

 

[huge_apple_fangirl]

Has Tesla been a success. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy before its share price skyrocketed for no reason.

They almost went bankrupt because of manufacturing- “production hell”. Apple won’t be doing manufacturing. Also, Tim Cook is a supply chain genius and excellent manager who won’t make Elon‘s mistakes.

They have tiny market share despite little or no competition for years. Now every car maker has a range of EVs.

They have massive market share in the EV segment. No carmaker has an EV competitive with Tesla on range when you account for the Supercharger network.

They make little or no profit.

Tesla has been profitable for more than a year, and when their new factories come online, their profit should increase, without emissions credits.

I would be glad to see Tesla fade away into obscurity and wipe the smile off that smug SOB Musk.

The best way to get Tesla to “fade away” would be for Apple to come and steal their thunder. They’re basically the Apple of cars- but an imitation can’t compare to the original!

I’m not saying Apple will or should sell cars. I’m saying that if they did, its going to be the Tesla model (with contract manufacturing) as opposed to some taxi service or a partnership with OEMs. Apple doesn’t do that.

 

[1258186]

Tim Cook is a supply chain genius and excellent manager

Is that why you have to wait weeks or months for every Apple product ordered online? Yeah some genius.

 

[Localcelebrity]

I don’t understand. On my iPhone & iPad is says “backup to iCloud”. How is this not a backup?

That IS a backup because it is an encapsulated COPY of data, not a primary source that is being actively being read and written to.

macOS has no equivalent feature to that currently. But I don't think it's due to liability reasons as another poster suggested. I think it's just a matter of practical cloud storage sizing and pricing. Macs generally have more data on them/greater storage capacities than iOS or iPadOS devices.