Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I appreciate the temptation to view a vehicle as a computer with wheels, now that electric drivetrain and self-driving are viable and interesting.

Nonetheless, Apple need beware: stick to the core competency, which for Apple is "flat computers with supporting ecosystem"; deviating from the core usually kills the company.
I've seen this happen too many times to unstoppable juggernauts.

As Tesla found, building a car company is very hard.
As long-established car companies are finding, building electric cars is very hard.

There is far more to a vehicle than wheels, seats, UI, and a flat computer.
 
So they came across some leaked plans for the case and then designed something that would fit into the case? That's how they guess what the next iPhone will look like. ?
 
I’ve been a big fan of Apple since I first got to use a Macintosh back in the mid-’80’s in college, but the idea of an Apple car has zero appeal to me. It’s one thing to have and use an iPhone and Watch, where they’re personal devices that others may rarely if ever see you use, but an Apple car is outright screaming that you’re an Apple fan, which I have no interest in doing, for similar reasons I’ll never own a Lamborghini or Ferrari.
 
I guess we all need to be more creative. What about a doorless and tireless car? it can be powered by 140W USB-C Magsafe charger ;)
 
Everybody’s a comedian. Looks like a delorean, haha. Charging port on bottom, haha. Steering wheel $1000, haha.

Not withstanding bad jokes, will it come in space grey?
 
  • Haha
Reactions: DocMultimedia
those doors are non-functional. you'd never be able to get in if you were in a tight parking space.
Park in a British multstorey car park with this door arrangement and you're basically just parking to stare out of the window.
 
Vanarama going for that PR... This has been designed by someone that thinks they get Apple but not actual design.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SFjohn
The only Apple logo will be on the exterior rear, dimly and tastefully lit from behind.

The seating will be back to back in 2 rows, all facing the side windows, which will double as iPad displays (when rolled up) about double the size of current 12.9” models. This will create functional workspaces for all passengers. The displays will be resizable to accommodate more passengers, up to 3 per side.

Seat belts will be referred to as “Safety Bands” and will be both removable and available in hundreds of colors and materials.

Siri microphones and speakers will be integrated into the headliner, as will the HVAC ports.

There will be no front grill or steering wheel.

Each seat will have heating and cooling cup holders as well as wireless charging ports which charge and connect mobile devices to the window screens. WiFi 7 will provide mobile Internet connectivity to 6G data carriers.

Anyone with an Administrator account to the vehicle will be able to navigate it and change settings as well as assign rights to other users. Only those with iPhones and iPads will be able to control the vehicle and play games using their devices as controllers.

The underside exterior of the vehicle will house a large MagSafe port for charging at MagSafe power stations without having to exit the vehicle.

Vehicle software will be named carOS and will have its own App Store featuring special apps with a focus on transport and mobility, such as an augmented reality app that overlays information on all the vehicle window screens in real-time to highlight points of interest and other data.

Third party manufacturers, in addition to Apple, will sell multiple kinds of exterior “cases” to change the exterior color/finish and provide additional functionality, like GoPro attachments and drone launchpads.

The front and rear of the vehicles will be able to connect to the front and rear of other Apple Cars on interstates to form “Apple CARavans,” groups of cars that form trains and can collectively travel at faster speeds over longer distances.

The initial appearance of stock models will come in Space Grey, Stainless Steel Gold, Product (RED), Space Black, Stainless Steel Silver, Titanium Tangerine, Bonzai Blue, and an Apple Car Edition model in Ceramic White. A partnership with Hermes will provide a $249,000 version limited to a manufacturing quantity of 500, signed by Tim Cook.

The initial model will be followed by Pro, Sport, Lux, and a convertible Air version 2 years later. The Apple Car Air will be the lightest, fastest roadster ever made.
 
Last edited:


British vehicle leasing company Vanarama has taken a stab at imagining what the first Apple Car could look like, taking inspiration from iPhones, MacBooks, and other Apple products, and combining them with real Apple patents to come up with a 3D concept render that can be explored inside and out.

vanarama-apple-car-concept.jpg

Given that Apple remains tight-lipped about its electric self-driving car plans, the concept is of course entirely speculative, but Vanarama says it has based the coupe SUV model on "genuine patents filed by Apple."

vanamara-apple-car-concept3.jpg

Vanarama's renders have several features based on Apple patents, such as the way the seats fully rotate to transform the interior into a living room setup, and the pillar-less design providing ease of access.

Other areas inspired by Apple patents include the coach doors, which "offer greater flexibility for passenger movement and loading, with scooped windows that increase headroom when boarding."

vanamara-apple-car-concept1.jpg

Interior touches also based on Apple patents include Siri built into the steering column (based on a patent for an intelligent automated assistant), and a seamless, fully customizable dashboard and navigation screen.

The stylistic flourishes meanwhile are inspired by Apple products, such as the retractable door handles that resemble iPhone buttons, and the mesh-like grille inspired by the Mac Pro's circular vents, complete with glowing logo from previous generations of MacBook. The frosted white finish is "a popular color scheme since the iPhone 4 launched in 2010."

vanamara-apple-car-concept2.jpg

Patents don't guarantee that Apple will build an Apple Car, but they do provide evidence that the company is researching vehicle development, and plenty of reports suggest Apple is going down the car track wholesale.

Last month, Bloomberg reported that Apple is picking up its work on an Apple-designed car and is aiming to create a fully autonomous vehicle. Apple is said to want to design a car that lacks a steering wheel or pedals, and with an interior that's aimed at hands-off driving. That said, Apple is still discussing the inclusion of a steering wheel, which may be required so people can take over in an emergency situation.

vanamara-apple-car-concept4.jpg

Bloomberg also reported 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 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. For more details, check out our dedicated Apple Car roundup.

Article Link: British Car Leasing Company Creates 'Apple Car' 3D Render Based on Patents
“…… Apple is still discussing the inclusion of a steering wheel, which may be required so people can take over in an emergency situation….” You think???!! LOL. Apple WILL NOT make a fully autonomous car for general use. Nor will anyone else anytime soon. The technology for that is years away. Perhaps decades. There MAY be vehicles that follow a prescribed route in cities or something of that nature. But a car that you get in and tell it where you want to go and it takes you there by itself with no interaction with the passengers and no steering wheel?? Nope.
 
Have Apple Execs not seen a movie, Twister?! Or what if something is blocking the road (bear, protesters, etc.)?

I bet you iSteerWheel will be a part of the new dongle.

Overall, I only like the floor type and that's it. It's pretty interesting. I hate carpet but vinyl is better. You don't have to worry about cleaning up the mess.
Carpet makes the cabin quieter and less prone to heat loss/gain.
 
This is a stupid and unsafe design. The seats offer no comfort or safety. There's no airbag, no seat belts, no collision protection. There are no mechanical fail safes in case the operating system and computerised parts fail.

Self driving doesn't mean a huge truck isn't going to ram right into it. Any modern or future car still has to draw on all the safety lessons learned from the last century.

Whoever designed these visuals needs to be show the door. Forever.

Look how stupid this is. Your head hits the front window when you turn the seats around.

vanamara-apple-car-concept1.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Robert.Walter
Oh man... That render is yikes.
Especially if rumors of self-driving-only are true, why on Earth would it need to look like a Honda Accord?? It could be literally any shape that fits on established road systems. Taking the main function of driving off the table and the whole definition of "vehicle" changes. Dramatically. We're on the precipice of a paradigm shift. Think more livingmoile and less automobile. Where passengers step into a living room on wheels where they could relax, play games, watch movies, cook, eat, drink, work, sleep - whatever non-driving activities you can image (yelp, even that). The concept of "the car" has pretty much been the same since the Model T. This could usher in one of the more exciting chapters in personal transportation since maybe airplanes.

For now, you toss an Apple logo on Canoo’s Lifestyle Vehicle and you have the closest aesthetic to what I’d imagine Apple would offer in the next few years. It’s that perfect mix of WTF? and OMG! that would riddle these forums virtually unreadable for a solid year - if not more. ?

Of all the EVs on the radar, I'm most interested in what Canoo is doing and hope they actually make it into mass production.

 
Last edited:
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.