Kuo: Apple Car Team Must Be Reorganized Soon to Meet 2025 Production Goal

[BrownyQ]

Cool as it may seem to have an Apple branded car, personally I wouldn't trust them jumping into the automotive industry.

I'd be a bit happier if they instead worked on some internal options for existing makes, like being able to request an Apple Original CarPlay module, rather than stock options or after market. But the whole vehicle? Just not feeling it...

 

[Jbusick7944]

Never, ever will there be an Apple car.

 

[Danoc]

I don’t believe in the Apple car. Cook won’t be CEO forever and I expect the new leadership to be more computer oriented than him. A la Microsoft (Ballmer to Nadela transition).

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I really hope Apple forgets this, and lets people who make cars, make cars...

And no, don't compare it to when Apple entered the phone market.

Honestly, feel free to compare it to when Apple entered the phone market. I don't think people remember just how hilariously bad the iPhone was compared to the competition.

The first iPhone was woefully inadequate, and aside from being the first phone to use a capacative screen, was really bad. The software was lacking in every way, even compared to flip phones (it didn't even have MMS, let alone iMessage), and it was about 3x as expensive as competing smartphones. As an electric car, it would get 100 miles per charge, not have a trunk, an internal nav system that shows chargers, and cost 3x the cost of a "typical" EV, so around $180,000.

But it will have the nicest seats you've ever sat in, and the steering wheel will be buttery-smooth to turn.

 

[erthquake]

I guess Stans have low standards.

You clearly do not have the beta. Some things get better, some things regress. Overall, it's hardly improved from the original release.

I got the beta back in late October. And it has improved markedly since then. It has improved a lot since the first beta release back in late 2020.

 

[8CoreWhore]

Three years from now?? No way. 2030 at least, if ever.

 

[dwaltwhit]

I’ve just never known what to make of this apple car thing. This does not clear it up

 

[jerryk]

I wonder why Apple would even go into car manufacturing. Huge capital costs and a skill set they do not have.

Better to focus on improving aspects of car systems with an existing manufactures like Tesla. Tesla's UI could be improved with some of Apple's skills. And since Tesla is moving to subscription services (FSD, leasing with no buyout) this could prove to be a nice income stream for Apple.

 

[iGeneo]

I must have missed the Press Release where Apple announced the development of a car.

 

[ninecows]

"Yes sir, I know you came in to have your broken headlight replaced but that requires us to replace the whole front end and that will be $ 15,000. Your other option is to buy a new Apple Car for $ 75,000"

… and the battery will be glued in.

 

[jerryk]

It looks like they tried that and they were snubbed by everyone. The EV car business is in a state where they are literally giving the cars away and there is little profit. Apple doesn't like that type of business.

EV are very profitable, at least to some companies. It is estimated Tesla makes close to 30% profit on every vehicle. It is amazing how profitable you can be when you build at scale a mechanically simpler product and market it well with $0 spent on advertising.

GM and Ford have seen this and this is why they are looking to split their EV sales off from ICE car sales and for EVs emulate Tesla's direct sales and build on customer order model.

 

[ThatGuyInLa]

Talk about driving around in circles!

Ehhhh? Ahhhh? Come on! That was a good one. You know you liked it!

 

[frostbit3]

Level-5 self driving cars are NEVER going to happen.

Please stop the insanity.

This will age well

 

[icwhatudidthere]

Honestly, feel free to compare it to when Apple entered the phone market. I don't think people remember just how hilariously bad the iPhone was compared to the competition.

The first iPhone was woefully inadequate, and aside from being the first phone to use a capacative screen, was really bad. The software was lacking in every way, even compared to flip phones (it didn't even have SMS, let alone iMessage), and it was about 3x as expensive as competing smartphones. As an electric car, it would get 100 miles per charge, not have a trunk, an internal nav system that shows chargers, and cost 3x the cost of a "typical" EV, so around $180,000.

But it will have the nicest seats you've ever sat in, and the steering wheel will be buttery-smooth to turn.

Not sure what phones you're comparing it to but back then I had the Samsung Blackjack and Nokia N80 and they weren't any cheaper off contract. I also went through a string of Nokia S60 phones that we just as expensive as the first iPhone. The biggest difference was the iPhone was one of the first that eschewed contract subsidies and that's why it appeared expensive.

As for the phone itself, I still have it and for the things it did, it did better than its contemporaries. Maps were much easier to use than on the N80 and it did actually have SMS.

 

[Sir_Macs_A_Lot]

Could Apple sustain themselves as a business by just making phones and computers?

Sustainable? Maybe. Apple has about a 9% share of the computer market & 22% share of the phone market. While that's not bad...they need their other products (tablets, watches, earphones, accessories, music, TV Services, etc.) to keep customers in their 'ecosystem' and continue to build brand loyalty.

 

[now i see it]

You read it here first: The so called “Apple Car” will never come into existence.
But we’ll hear rumors about it for the next six years.

 

[jerryk]

This will age well

Yep. Just like "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." - Ken Olsen, CEO and Founder Digital Equipment Corporation, (1977 - same year as Apple II launch)

 

[frostbit3]

Yep. Just like "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." - Ken Olsen, CEO and Founder Digital Equipment Corporation, (1977 - same year as Apple II launch)

And all the people ranting and raving about how ARM in a Mac will never happen and is a terrible idea:

Apple to Move from Intel to ARM Processors in Future Laptops?

SemiAccurate claims to have heard that Apple will be transitioning from Intel processors to ARM processors in the not too distant future. The site seems to believe that the transition will take place after ARM has moved to full 64-bit cores which won't likely be until at least mid-2013. Apple...

forums.macrumors.com

Never say never

 

[ghanwani]

EV are very profitable, at least to some companies. It is estimated Tesla makes close to 30% profit on every vehicle. It is amazing how profitable you can be when you build at scale a mechanically simpler product and market it well with $0 spent on advertising.

GM and Ford have seen this and this is why they are looking to split their EV sales off from ICE car sales and for EVs emulate Tesla's direct sales and build on customer order model.

IIRC that number is NOT net profit, it is gross profit margin.

 

[multipasser]

We should rename MacRumors to KuoRumors. wtf

 

[Sir_Macs_A_Lot]

Never, ever will there be an Apple car.

While that very well might be true. When making statements such as this...people should be prepared to backup those words if proven wrong. For example, "The day an Apple Car ever gets released...I will streak down a crowded public street, wearing nothing but a pair of flip-flops!"

 

[MisterK]

The Apple Car is going to happen because:

1. It's a $2.8 Trillion worldwide industry. There aren't many (any other?) of those.
   • The world's richest company can only make a significant difference to their revenue with something this type of size. Not niche Mac Pros at the high end of their desktop computers. Cars are (and should be) a higher priority.
2. Cars are increasingly a tech and user experience product. That's what Apple does.
   • It's about aspirational status products, aesthetics/design, marketing, logistics, supply chain, materials, fashion, battery tech, computer chips, services...
3. Apple has already been mapping streets all over. They've already sunk considerable resources.
4. Whether or not you think Apple is capable of making an entirely self-driving, voice controlled living room RV on wheels, they are definitely capable of making an electric car competitive with a Tesla. It's a nice car but it's not magic. If Sony is capable of making an electric car, then Apple is capable.

I'm not saying they're going to do it by 2025. Nor should they.. It's too big of an opportunity to get it wrong. But in the next decade I don't see how they don't.

 

[asdfjkl;]

Level-5 self driving cars are NEVER going to happen.

Please stop the insanity.

There are lots of other ways to make money, don't need to do it with cars.

Maybe start a restaurant or something? You already named yourself after food..

I mostly agree. It will likely come at some point but it is a long way off. A number of AI experts have pointed out that the difference between driver assist technologies like lane keeping and emergency braking are far, far, far, far simpler than completely autonomous driving. Autonomous driving is several orders of magnitude more complicated and is quite a long ways off. Elon Musk continues to lie about how soon autonomous driving will arrive. He's said it will be here next year for the past 5 years.

Apple should stick to things they are good at, namely consumer electronics.

 

[ghanwani]

The Apple Car is going to happen because:

1. It's a $2.8 Trillion worldwide industry. There aren't many (any other?) of those.
   • The world's richest company can only make a significant difference to their revenue with something this type of size. Not niche Mac Pros at the high end of their desktop computers. Cars are (and should be) a higher priority.
2. Cars are increasingly a tech and user experience product. That's what Apple does.
   • It's about aspirational status products, aesthetics/design, marketing, logistics, supply chain, materials, fashion, battery tech, computer chips, services...
3. Apple has already been mapping streets all over. They've already sunk considerable resources.
4. Whether or not you think Apple is capable of making an entirely self-driving, voice controlled living room RV on wheels, they are definitely capable of making an electric car competitive with a Tesla. It's a nice car but it's not magic. If Sony is capable of making an electric car, then Apple is capable.

I'm not saying they're going to do it by 2025. Nor should they.. It's too big of an opportunity to get it wrong. But in the next decade I don't see how they don't.

Sony is doing it with Honda. Very unlikely the car will be Sony car. It's going to be Honda with Sony tech. That's not what Apple is gunning for.

 

[asdfjkl;]

I think this "rumor" is someone inside Apple trying to get the Apple Car project restarted. They leak this rumor in hopes it will pressure upper management to fund Apple Car development again. I don't think this strategy will work and I think Apple execs learned enough from the earlier effort to know it's not viable for them.