Apple Working Toward Fully Autonomous Car With No Steering Wheel or Pedals, Aiming to Launch in 2025

[TVOR]

To those in favour of this nightmare fuel...what does this technology - assuming it actually works - allow you to do? What benefit does it provide? To the average person who drives maybe an hour or two each day...what do they do with this newly freed up time? Because they are in a car so it's not like they can go for a run or ride a bike to get some fresh air and work out? The activities are going to be pretty limited being in a car...no? So basically, as somebody else pointed out, it frees up more time to sit on your phone watching Netflix/scrolling Facebook/liquifying your brain watching TikTok? I don't see any of those things as a positive sadly!

Now if a technology cam along that allowed us to ACTUALLY get that time back in a way where we could get outside and do something with that time...then THAT would be worth considering. All this is is a transfer of our attention from the road to the phone...and I see that as a net loss to humanity...a HUGE one! At least when you're driving you are actually looking at the real world and you might notice some of the beauty of nature...or a piece of unusual architecture...or something that isn't the ever-widening, gaping mouth of the proto-dystopia of the Metaverse.

 

[Reason077]

But will it charge via Lightning or USB-C?

MagSafe, obviously!

I’m surprised by the suggestion Apple might actually use the standard CCS charging connector. And miss the opportunity to sell you their own overpriced MagSafe charging units and tie you in to their MagSafe charging network? Not in Apple’s DNA!

 

[Reason077]

To the average person who drives maybe an hour or two each day...what do they do with this newly freed up time? Because they are in a car so it's not like they can go for a run or ride a bike to get some fresh air and work out? The activities are going to be pretty limited being in a car...no?

You’re still thinking in terms of old-fashioned manually driven cars. A car that requires no driving doesn’t have to be limited to just having boring seats and screens. You could have an exercise bike in there and do a Peloton-style exercise class during your morning commute. Or an espresso machine and a mini-fridge so you can make yourself breakfast while watching the world go by. The possibilities are limitless!

At least when you're driving you are actually looking at the real world and you might notice some of the beauty of nature...or a piece of unusual architecture...or something that isn't the ever-widening, gaping mouth of the proto-dystopia of the Metaverse.

When you’re driving, you really should be keeping your eyes on the road, not admiring the architecture. Driverless cars will allow you to safely see so much more!

 

[Smartass]

Apple cant even fix iTunes, and they expect me to trust their software in a car with no steering wheel or pedals? Riiiiight

 

[Smartass]

You’re still thinking in terms of old-fashioned manually driven cars. A car that requires no driving doesn’t have to be limited to just having boring seats and screens. You could have an exercise bike in there and do a Peloton-style exercise class during your morning commute. Or an espresso machine and a mini-fridge so you can make yourself breakfast while watching the world go by. The possibilities are limitless!

So, basically a self-driving RV?

 

[Smartass]

Yeah, I don’t see that idea flying with a huge percentage of the American population. People want to grab a wheel and DRIVE. Hence all the performance vehicles out there. Also Americans are control freaks to some extent and entriely trusting software to keep them safe on trackless roads with cross traffic and a mix of non-driverless cars is a BIG ask of people. I just don’t see that happening anytime soon. Nor do I see regulatory bodies allowing that in a lot of places either.

But hey...dream big!

I'm glad somebody mentioned it: People actually like to drive cars. Well maybe not every morning in traffic jams, but driving a car is still a fun thing to do. The problem with all these new "autonomous" cars, is that they are being designed by people who have:
1. No real interest in cars other than "It gets me from point a to point b"
2. Because they have no real interest in cars they fail to understand why majority of people like to drive a car
3. Because they fail to understand why majority of people like to drive a car, they are trying to sell us THEIR vision of a car. Which is a car made for people that dont have any interest in cars because they're bad at driving and they just want something that can get them from point a to point b.

 

[Luis Ortega]

No steering wheels and pedals wow! Who’s saving up for Apple car already?

lol…people with a death wish.

 

[Ramchi]

Most likely for fleet operations like Cabs, Ambulance or other emergency services where start to stop is well defined. Human drivers often change their minds while driving and change course or stop etc...not sure if normal car buyers can use this.

 

[Jim Lahey]

Apple can’t even design a working sidebar in iPadOS 15 Safari. I think I’ll give this a miss until at least carOS 1.0.1 ?

 

[chucker23n1]

To those in favour of this nightmare fuel...what does this technology - assuming it actually works - allow you to do? What benefit does it provide? To the average person who drives maybe an hour or two each day...what do they do with this newly freed up time? Because they are in a car so it's not like they can go for a run or ride a bike to get some fresh air and work out? The activities are going to be pretty limited being in a car...no?

Uh.

Read the news, listen to a podcast, listen to music, play a game, etc. All kinds of things you can do when commuting via public transport that you can't when driving a car. A hypothetical truly autonomous car would enable this.

So basically, as somebody else pointed out, it frees up more time to sit on your phone watching Netflix/scrolling Facebook/liquifying your brain watching TikTok? I don't see any of those things as a positive sadly!

…because? You think it's better to waste that time navigating the traffic of the very same route every day, day in, day out? This is a very weird take. Read a newspaper if you prefer that. You'd be able to do that!

Now if a technology cam along that allowed us to ACTUALLY get that time back in a way where we could get outside and do something with that time...

That technology exists: it's called commuting less. For many office jobs, this is now happening, as it turns out driving to sit at a desk at work every day is, for many use cases, completely unnecessary.

then THAT would be worth considering. All this is is a transfer of our attention from the road to the phone...and I see that as a net loss to humanity...a HUGE one!

Why?

At least when you're driving you are actually looking at the real world

You seem to have a romanticized idea of what a commute looks like. By and large, it's not "nice beach!" and "look at that sunrise!". It's "great, another traffic jam", "crap, I missed the green light by five seconds", and "aw man, did the corner shop close?". Every. Single. Day. For forty years.

and you might notice some of the beauty of nature...or a piece of unusual architecture...or something that isn't the ever-widening, gaping mouth of the proto-dystopia of the Metaverse.

It's a commute, not a trip to Key West.

 

[BigCat097]

Don't worry about buying a car with no steering wheel, because Apple probably won't be selling it to you. Instead you pay $xxxx a month for "Apple Car Ride Max" that will scoop you up and take you where you want to go. Is it just a glorified taxi service? Yes, but with magic and whimsy. You're going to love it, even though it it won't be able to operate off major roads or highways, in inclement weather or during a solar storm. In the unlikely (very likely) event the car malfunctions and you are injured in a accident, Apple now offers Apple Health Pro and Apple Health Max. It's health care but now managed by your favorite voice assistant, Siri, and only cost $xxxx a day.

 

[BigCat097]

My more serious take is that I think people are looking at the Apple Car project the wrong way. I don't think Apple is looking to compete with Tesla and Big Auto, I think it's looking to compete with Uber and Lyft by providing a "car as a service" model. From that prospective, a fully autonomous car would circumvent one of the biggest problems uber and lyft have, managing gig employees and the associated labor/legislative issues, while admittedly creating new but different problems that Apple presumably thinks it can manage in this scenario. I am pretty sure this was the path Uber was going down before the real world interfered with it's plans. Is this what Apple is actually thinking? I have no idea. Is it a viable plan? Maybe? It seems like a pretty big risk to enter the car segment as either a traditional seller/manufacturer or as a "ride service provider", but apparently Apple has the resources to burn.

 

[mixel]

A car with no manual control requires no license to drive. If they managed to pull it off - for inner city this could be huge. The younger generations here have very limited interest in driving. Public transport is pretty decent here, but good autopilot gives you a space you can work, rest etc while in transit.. And a fully automated car wouldn't need you inside it to drive, so you could have it come and pick you up? ?

 

[dirtylilhobo]

“Apple wants to design a car that lacks a steering wheel or pedals, and with an interior that's aimed at hands-off driving.”

Better have ejection seats…!! Can you imagine ripping down the road and spotting impending disaster with no way out? Or, being stuck in the middle of nowhere when that super chip decides to meltdown? Besides, I would rather have an autonomous vehicle capable of maneuvering in three dimensions; X Y Z, not just X Y. The Jetsons had the right idea.!!

 

[TVOR]

You’re still thinking in terms of old-fashioned manually driven cars. A car that requires no driving doesn’t have to be limited to just having boring seats and screens. You could have an exercise bike in there and do a Peloton-style exercise class during your morning commute. Or an espresso machine and a mini-fridge so you can make yourself breakfast while watching the world go by. The possibilities are limitless!



When you’re driving, you really should be keeping your eyes on the road, not admiring the architecture. Driverless cars will allow you to safely see so much more!

I'm fairly certain that you will still have to wear seat belts even if the car is driverless! So unless you were being sarcastic, I'm struggling to see how you could even imagine that having an exercise bike in a car could be a thing? More to the point, if you want to cycle...then...ummm...maybe cycle instead of getting in to a car to then...cycle?!??

On your second point, I agree, the road should be the number one focus, but - especially if in traffic - you do have opportunities to look at the outside world! But you are right, a driverless car would afford more opportunities to look at the world around you...if people would actually do that...which I personally doubt they would...YMMV though...

 

[TVOR]

Uh.

Read the news, listen to a podcast, listen to music, play a game, etc. All kinds of things you can do when commuting via public transport that you can't when driving a car. A hypothetical truly autonomous car would enable this.



…because? You think it's better to waste that time navigating the traffic of the very same route every day, day in, day out? This is a very weird take. Read a newspaper if you prefer that. You'd be able to do that!



That technology exists: it's called commuting less. For many office jobs, this is now happening, as it turns out driving to sit at a desk at work every day is, for many use cases, completely unnecessary.



Why?



You seem to have a romanticized idea of what a commute looks like. By and large, it's not "nice beach!" and "look at that sunrise!". It's "great, another traffic jam", "crap, I missed the green light by five seconds", and "aw man, did the corner shop close?". Every. Single. Day. For forty years.



It's a commute, not a trip to Key West.

I can listen to a podcast or music as it stands...I don't need a driverless car for that. Reading the news...fair enough...although I have zero interest in 90% of the news these days...so if that floats your boat...fair enough...but chances are it would be on a screen again though. As for playing a game, sorry, I missed that off of my list of brain-melting activities...you are right...that's a distinct possibility...but again...I presume you mean a mobile game rather than pulling out a chess board?

Yes, I actually do think it's better to "waste time" navigating the traffic than getting ever more sucked into a fake, digital metaphor for real life!

Really? You are going with "commuting less is technology"? That's a pretty lame take no matter what point you want to make! I do, however, 100% agree with you that many people could easily work remotely. I haven't worked in a traditional office for over two decades...so commuting daily is not an issue I currently face.

As for your "Why?"...well that depends on if you are asking why I feel it would simply transfer attention from road to phone? Or why I feel it would be a huge net loss to humanity? In the case of the former, I don't think it's a huge leap of the imagination to assume that people would simply stare at their phones...look at other forms of transport where people don't have to be in control...trains...buses etc....most people just...stare at their phones! If it's the latter, that's simply because I believe that while phones and technology in general are capable of huge benefits to society (and humanity), for the most part they are used as a crude cudgel dressed up as "entertainment" whose net effect will be little short of an intellectual mass lobotomy!

And no...not a romanticised view...just a view of somebody who actually appreciates that beauty can exist without having to be some grand scale thing. If you spend your commute focusing on the negative then that's all you will see. But if you look for it, there are positive/beautiful/interesting things that can catch your eye...even in the dull, monotonous world that you described!

However, you are, of course, entitled to your views. And if you are happy to embrace this new frontier then you are welcome to! I, for one, see this as a solution looking for a problem...

 

[chucker23n1]

And no...not a romanticised view...just a view of somebody who actually appreciates that beauty can exist without having to be some grand scale thing.

It can and does. Outside the commute.

However, you are, of course, entitled to your views. And if you are happy to embrace this new frontier then you are welcome to! I, for one, see this as a solution looking for a problem...

I don't think this rumor is true regardless.

 

[TVOR]

I don't think this rumor is true regardless.

Ahhhh...now THIS we can agree on! Still...to me at least...it's a scary thought!!

 

[steelhauler34]

What has two thumbs and will never be caught dead in one??? THIS GUY.

 

[djplong]

This is honestly one of the stupidest, most ignorant, most poorly-thought-out recurring rumors that I keep hearing on multiple sites.

Full disclosure - I'm quite a fan of Apple and Tesla owning plenty of Apple gear and a Tesla Model 3.

There is no way on God's Green Earth that authorities WILL ALLOW such vehicles on general roads ANYTIME SOON - they have a hard enough time allowing driverless TRAINS on FIXED GUIDEWAYS.

Never mind that nobody is even CLOSE to where Tesla is on automated driving and the latest Full Self Drive beta still REQUIRES a driver who is warned to be ready to take over AT ANY TIME.

You might see such a vehicle in one of The Boring Company's loop tunnels or on some other fixed pathway - but NOT making your commute down the freeway or going to get groceries. Not for a LONG time.

 

[chucker23n1]

nobody is even CLOSE to where Tesla is on automated driving

I see no reason to believe Tesla has some magical expertise that companies like Apple and Google do not.

and the latest Full Self Drive beta still REQUIRES a driver who is warned to be ready to take over AT ANY TIME.

Yup. From a recent Tesla "Full Self Drive" review:

“I'd watched the software nearly crash into a construction site, try to turn into a stopped truck and attempt to drive down the wrong side of the road.”

You might see such a vehicle in one of The Boring Company's loop tunnels or on some other fixed pathway - but NOT making your commute down the freeway or going to get groceries. Not for a LONG time.

Underground tunnels with autonomous vehicles on a track have existed since the 1980s, so, yeah, The Boring Company could reinvent that (poorly), if they wanted.

I agree with the "not for a long time" bit. I just think you bought into the Elon hype a bit too much.

 

[EyeTack]

I can’t wait for Siri to reply: “I’m sorry, Dave. You are being detained by the authorities.”

 

[fa8362]

Apple is picking up its work on an Apple-designed car and is aiming to create a fully autonomous vehicle, reports Bloomberg. Apple is "refocusing" the project around full self-driving vehicles, a goal that other car manufacturers have not been able to achieve.

Work on an Apple Car began way back in 2014, and since then, the project has gone through multiple transformations. At one point, rumors suggested Apple had abandoned its plans for a full vehicle and would instead focus on software, but rumors began picking up again in 2020. It's now been made clear that Apple intends to launch its own vehicle.

As Bloomberg explains, Apple worked on two vehicle paths, one with limited self-driving capabilities and a second with full self-driving functionality that does not require human intervention, and the company will now pursue this second path under the leadership of Kevin Lynch, who joined the project earlier this year. Apple has hit a "milestone" in developing the self-driving car system, and has finished the core work on the chip that will power the first car.

Apple wants to design a car that lacks a steering wheel or pedals, and with an interior that's aimed at hands-off driving. Bloomberg said that Apple has considered a design similar to the Lifestyle Vehicle from Canoo, in which passengers sit along the sides of the vehicle, facing one another.

Apple is still discussing the inclusion of a steering wheel, which may be required so people can take over in an emergency situation An iPad-like tablet could be in the middle of the vehicle, which passengers would be able to interact with.

Apple wants its car to be safer than those manufactured by Waymo and Tesla, with redundancies and failsafes to avoid failures. The vehicle will be electric, with Apple discussing charging that's compatible with the combined charging system so Apple vehicle owners can use a global network of chargers.

Using Lexus SUVs outfitted with LiDAR scanners and other equipment, Apple has been testing its self-driving system. Bloomberg says that Apple will test the new processor that it has developed in those cars, along with new self-driving sensors.

Apple is said to be aiming to launch its self-driving car in four years, which would put a debut right around 2025. Whether Apple will be able to hit that goal will depend on whether Apple can develop a full self-driving system. Should it not be able to meet its aims, Apple could delay launch or sell a car that's less technologically advanced. The timeline is aggressive, and Apple is ramping up hiring to meet deadlines.

Article Link: Apple Working Toward Fully Autonomous Car With No Steering Wheel or Pedals, Aiming to Launch in 2025

What happens when the software crashes?

 

[TComm]

The notch on the windshield might be a problem

 

[scotty321]

I think it’s pretty obvious that these car rumors are just fake rumors created by Wall Street to pump the AAPL stock price.