Can't wait. Just about to set off: Siri tells me a new software update is available. Update process gets botched (ie. brakes disconnected or something silly like that) and I have to wait three weeks for a car genius appointment at my local Apple Store. Nah. I think Apple should stick to tech (plenty of interesting developments here), services (big business) and - if they are interested in cars - license the software to car companies. After seeing all the work that is required to set up a gigantic supply chain and have those processes optimised takes a long time. Look at the German or Japanese car manufacturers.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Kuo: Apple to Launch Apple Car in 2023 to 2025
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Well, two things we know are true:
1) Apple spends more on R&D every year than the total that’s been invested in Tesla (less than $10 billion) during its entire 15 year existence.
2) There are at least 5,000 employees with need-to-know access credentials on the Apple Car project, whatever it may be. Tesla employed fewer than 3,000 when they launched the model S.
I doubt Apple’s plan is selling you a car. In fact, they may never be for sale at all. The car is just an enabling technology for their larger goals in the growing business of transportation as a service.
“Hey Siri, what’s the year the upgraded AirPower will be able to charge the AppleCar ?“
It's your decision. If you don't feel safe ordering a self driving car, don't turn it on. You're at fault if you decide to use buggy software. But the idea is that software with 360 sensors will make better decisions than the average driver, better than you or me.
If it asks you to take over right away, it's not full self driving. That's level3/level4 autonomy.
[doublepost=1534316442][/doublepost]
Why would you want to own one? Why not just request it from an app so that the car drives to you. If you want to drive it, that's fine. If you don't want to, that's fine too. No need to own the car, just rent it on demand.
What’s interesting is to see Kuo make such a prediction this far in advance, which is basically 5 to 7 years from now. And this is outside his normal type of predictions that usually makes with the iPhone or other tech products more so annually. But by that time *if* the Apple car is a reality, electric/autonomous related cars are growing more widespread with auto manufacturers making it predominant where the future is clearly leading too. I think the whole “Apple car” or Project Titan has to be one of the largest enigma’s within the company.
They best bump the base 5GB of icloud storage by then or a lot of people will be seeing this message projected onto their windscreen.
"This iCar cannot be backed up because there is not enough iCloud storage available."
"This iCar cannot be backed up because there is not enough iCloud storage available."
Oh a car? This won't go bad at alllllll. iOS 11 was the buggiest release, High Sierra was the buggiest release ever. They just pulled the iOS 12 beta too. They've got no talent. I wouldn't trust Apple to build a car.
If they charge $149 for a charging mat just imagine how expensive an Apple Car will be!
Welcome to the Apple garage. How may I assist you today?
....
A broken wing mirror you say. And your battery is not holding a charge. Only 5 miles on a charge.
Let me look at your service record. Oh it says here you only bought last year. Hmm this is strange. Let me see what I can do.
....
Yes I’ll try to keep the cost down for you.
2 minutes later
Sorry sir I’m afraid you’re out of warranty. Would you like to buy a new mirror and battery. Cost $2,999
.... **#** .... ##*#*#
Oh sir no need to be like that
...#**#*....#%***#%
Eh security security!
....
A broken wing mirror you say. And your battery is not holding a charge. Only 5 miles on a charge.
Let me look at your service record. Oh it says here you only bought last year. Hmm this is strange. Let me see what I can do.
....
Yes I’ll try to keep the cost down for you.
2 minutes later
Sorry sir I’m afraid you’re out of warranty. Would you like to buy a new mirror and battery. Cost $2,999
.... **#** .... ##*#*#
Oh sir no need to be like that
...#**#*....#%***#%
Eh security security!
Apple is a design company, not a tech company.
That’s where Apple is uniquely positioned to succeed. Using their expertise in good design to reimagine the whole user experience and remove the friction and the pain points that serve as barriers preventing us from interacting more closely with said technology.
wow! so this means Apple has 6 years to fix ALL problems Apple Maps has?
I'm in Spain, I use Google Maps or Apple Maps daily, and none are extend of big mistakes when driving around even my neighborhood, you send them bug to fix, they fix, new bugs appear...
Hope you guys in USA are more lucky than we are...
Apple car sales will be far far slower than iPhone, they don't need just to make deals with carriers, they need to make 100% accuracy maps of all big cities first...
Tesla business is in doubt, electric cars nowadays faces some problems, millenials are unwilling of own a car, and those who want one, want it for travel, I'm talking for Spain, pretty sure big cities in USA is different, but here you need a gas powered car to travel around, electric charge stations are nonexistent, 6 years is too short time for them to appear, though demand always drive this things, so maybe in 10 years electric charge station are all around.
Only saying that though Apple car were on market in 2025, it would need at least another 5 years to spread out of USA. It would be a bussines that just big tech companies could support.
Only fear I have about Apple Car is the Apple tend to remove some key features as they think they don't need, hope brakes and reverse won't one of those XD
I'm in Spain, I use Google Maps or Apple Maps daily, and none are extend of big mistakes when driving around even my neighborhood, you send them bug to fix, they fix, new bugs appear...
Hope you guys in USA are more lucky than we are...
Apple car sales will be far far slower than iPhone, they don't need just to make deals with carriers, they need to make 100% accuracy maps of all big cities first...
Tesla business is in doubt, electric cars nowadays faces some problems, millenials are unwilling of own a car, and those who want one, want it for travel, I'm talking for Spain, pretty sure big cities in USA is different, but here you need a gas powered car to travel around, electric charge stations are nonexistent, 6 years is too short time for them to appear, though demand always drive this things, so maybe in 10 years electric charge station are all around.
Only saying that though Apple car were on market in 2025, it would need at least another 5 years to spread out of USA. It would be a bussines that just big tech companies could support.
Only fear I have about Apple Car is the Apple tend to remove some key features as they think they don't need, hope brakes and reverse won't one of those XD
When people drive cars, people die. Humans are terrible at driving and continuously prove this year after year. I get that driving is fun, and people don't want to give it up, but what's incredible is how people believe that the "want to drive" is more important than human life.
You know what I want? I want to avoid being killed/permanently injured because someone else says "I want to drive" then ends up crashing into me.
Humans should be banned from driving as soon as autonomous vehicles can effectively navigate any road/condition in existence. If you want to drive, go to a track where you aren't risking innocent lives.
Besides, autonomous vehicles would be able to drive a lot more efficiently if they could all communicate with each other and didn't have to anticipate idiot human drivers.
Can it be insanely great? After the dustbin, ear tampons, the whoops you can’t charge it and use it mouse, etc.
And yet... Everything I listed is still true and and an advantage for Tesla. No one else is improving on the across-the-board constraints of an electric car, which again, are not constraints at all for normal commuters. “Too long to charge” is subjective, as is “It’s a pain to own one.” It sounds like all-electrics don’t fit your use case. That’s cool and all, but it means nothing at this stage of the industry. A car with 300 mile range will get millions of people to work and back for a week, and then charge overnight, ready to go for another week. The “modification” needed to your home is a circuit breaker and a box on the wall. Not even a half day for an electrician.
You keep bringing up BMW. The i3 is an ugly duckling that nobody wanted, relatively speaking - Tesla has sold 3x as many Model S in the US. Then the i8 is an impractical halo car that few can afford, and it’s not all-electric anyway. Perhaps both were test beds that BMW could play with, but at the rate they’re going, only the Uber-faithful are going to opt for the BMW electrics. Meanwhile Musk has built his own fan base from scratch, ignited broad public interest (though not always positive lately), and the tuner and component repurposing markets are getting ramped up.
Look, I don’t know if Tesla will make it in the end. As I mentioned, I sold my position in the company due to the CEO’s flighty nature and the resulting stock volatility, but it pained me to do so because I believe in what he’s doing. For all the other R&D and manufacturing experience the big automakers have, none of them has done what he’s done. The Leaf is not making news. The Bolt is one option, while Tesla has 3 already and has two more in the pipeline, along with the semi truck. The challenge for Elon is to stay afloat long enough for Model 3s to sell themselves on the road and keep momentum going so he can make money on them. No one knows if that will happen, but if Tesla fails it will have very little to do with BMW or even Apple.
Last edited:
It is question where is Apple heading and whether Apple knows that as their strategy evolved and changed a bit in last years I would say.
They can:
be building just autonomous system integrated with rest of iOS ecosystem and find a partner within car companies even it failed few years ago
or it can license it what is not much probable
design car completely alone or with some engineering company and build it yourself or in OEM factory
And question is whether first version will be fully autonomous system or system still needing driver control. Final goal is fully autonomous one of course. Zoox as partner can be interesting.
And there are markets with different habits and rules. In US as I got you have to sell cars via dealers. Not sure we have such rule in Europe.
We can guess Apple cars will be premium one so they may have one factory for whole world or two, US and Asia. premium cars can withstand some transport costs.
In case Apple want to build them in masses they need more factories.
And AR glasses. They can be of good use here as they can give driver better experience any projection on front screen. When you turn head they will give you all info in that direction. There can be short distance wireless charging ready at that time so may work hours without cable or massive battery.
Even Apple would never released a car It can have positive effect on whole industry that will try to come up with solutions before Apple so it can stir innovation.
They can:
be building just autonomous system integrated with rest of iOS ecosystem and find a partner within car companies even it failed few years ago
or it can license it what is not much probable
design car completely alone or with some engineering company and build it yourself or in OEM factory
And question is whether first version will be fully autonomous system or system still needing driver control. Final goal is fully autonomous one of course. Zoox as partner can be interesting.
And there are markets with different habits and rules. In US as I got you have to sell cars via dealers. Not sure we have such rule in Europe.
We can guess Apple cars will be premium one so they may have one factory for whole world or two, US and Asia. premium cars can withstand some transport costs.
In case Apple want to build them in masses they need more factories.
And AR glasses. They can be of good use here as they can give driver better experience any projection on front screen. When you turn head they will give you all info in that direction. There can be short distance wireless charging ready at that time so may work hours without cable or massive battery.
Even Apple would never released a car It can have positive effect on whole industry that will try to come up with solutions before Apple so it can stir innovation.
It kinda amazes me how far off people are in their predictions. Apple makes expensive stuff, but stuff that’s attainable for the mainstream consumer. If it wasn’t, they wouldn’t be in business. They’d be incredibly niche.
Mark my words: the Apple car won’t be $100,000 to the point very few can afford them. They’ll be more like $30-50k. More in the range of a newer suv but with features that differentiate it greatly.
I remember when iPad came out and people were trying to guess the price and everybody though it would be like $1500. Then it turned out to be a third of that and everyone was shocked. Because people forget what Apple is: expensive but accessable.
Mark my words: the Apple car won’t be $100,000 to the point very few can afford them. They’ll be more like $30-50k. More in the range of a newer suv but with features that differentiate it greatly.
I remember when iPad came out and people were trying to guess the price and everybody though it would be like $1500. Then it turned out to be a third of that and everyone was shocked. Because people forget what Apple is: expensive but accessable.