You mean the fanboys...
I made no claims as to "what" it would be, only the fact of the mess that is the "reality of now" which we know and live..
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.
Steve Jobs Passed on Building Apple Car in 2008 to Focus on iPhone
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
You mean the fanboys...
I made no claims as to "what" it would be, only the fact of the mess that is the "reality of now" which we know and live..
And this is the reason a lot of people miss Steve Jobs he did not waste time on things that were not necessary at the moment and improved on current Apple products and he also knew there would be more class action lawsuits when it comes to making cars.
Steve Jobs if only you were still around to improve ATV.
Yeah because the price for the car would be outrages and the car insurance for a Apple car damn I don't want to even think how much I would have to pay for insurance. Apple products already expensive I can just imagine the price of a Apple car would be so yeah there will more cars with no one in them.
Steve Jobs if only you were still around to improve ATV.
Yeah because the price for the car would be outrages and the car insurance for a Apple car damn I don't want to even think how much I would have to pay for insurance. Apple products already expensive I can just imagine the price of a Apple car would be so yeah there will more cars with no one in them.
Last edited by a moderator:
The technology for them to build a successful Apple car wouldn't have been ready till about now anyway.
right move at the right time. smart phones were obviously exploding, a market was already created for it. apple swooped in and did it better than anyone else. and marketed the **** out of it and made some serious cash. sounds like the time is right for them to move into the electric car market. there's demand, enough precedent of other vehicles out there, and they can take their hoard of cash and dive in. kinda what apple does - they've never really created or invented anything new, just seriously re-created what was already out there and made it better.
Last edited by a moderator:
This is true, but an auto company is REALLY expensive and difficult to start from scratch. There are so many moving parts. Look how much Tesla struggles to get product out the door. I think at some point Tesla, Apple, and Google will either partner with or purchase existing auto manufacturing companies to jump into the manufacturing game at a high level. VW could be a good candidate after their recent hit. Some of the lesser Japanese brands might be good as well (mazda, Mitsubishi)?
OMG no. Can you imagine the whining, moaning, OCD behavior, and {Apple Car}-gate apple fans would produce? Not to mention the standard apple response of "You're driving it wrong".
More malarkey from Apple PR. Keep the fairy tale alive so the share price doesn't dive...
As a mechanic I find his comparison quite accurate.
Let's look at manufacturing. The iPhone starts with highly robotized systems that machine the metal and anodize it. Cars start with robots that weld the frame and paint the chases. Pretty similar. Likewise both require human hands for the finishing details such as installing screen on the iPhone or seats in a car.
On the software front most cars are where smartphones were in the BlackBerry era. Sure you can use the map on your car but it's about as useful as using the map on your BlackBerry in 2007.
http://www.gadgetell.com/images/2007/05/google-maps-8800-2.jpg
http://www.happybeagle.com/images/prius/prius-map-display.jpg
And this is exactly why Apple and other tech companies (Google and MS) SHOULD get into the auto business. Because only these companies have the ability to make the sophisticated software that self driving cars require.
Good choice Steve.
Tim Cook, follow in his example and pass on the Apple Car.
Tim Cook, follow in his example and pass on the Apple Car.
Don't worry about the Apple TV, developers are going to improve it way beyond Apple's expectations.
I think you have that backwards. Just look at Tim Cook, saying yes to anything.
Last edited by a moderator:
Exactly, but some people think making cars requires some secret talents only the worthy ones have. They remind me to Palm vs the iPhone "Pc guys are not just going to figure this out, they're not going to just walk in". LMAO
Electric cars are DOA for price performance for 95% of people until we can get a better battery technology. Whoever develops a battery with an energy/weight capacity a little closer to fossil fuels will be rich beyond dreams. Its exciting to see all the developments. We may be getting close. Lithium is not it, not yet, but people are getting closer. Tesla rightly says they are a battery company because that is the big breakthrough. I would love to see Apple spend some billions on that problem.
Can Apple make a car? Maybe. Moving parts are a completely different problem they have not faced before in many devices. Smart people can solve lots of problems but the competition and lead time held by others is pretty incredible.
Can Apple make a car? Maybe. Moving parts are a completely different problem they have not faced before in many devices. Smart people can solve lots of problems but the competition and lead time held by others is pretty incredible.
Last edited:
It's easy to tell whether that future product will have similar properties to products coming out at this time. If most products coming out the past couple years have been unpolished and buggy, then it's likely the next few will be too. Cycles.
Well, since nobody has released a self-driving car I would say no one has any lead time. This is not like the guys who make the iPhone are going to make the car. Apple's hiring people from Tesla, Mercedez, Ford, etc to do that. It's the same discussion every time, how could apple make a phone!? they don't have the expertise to do it. How do people make new products then? And we aren't even talking about a new product, we're talking about a car, something that has been done billions of times. Anyone can make a car.
How do you know Steve said no forever? Steve said no to the iPad in 2004-5 in favor of the iPhone. Apple still released an iPad eventually.
True, that was a mistake on the part of Palm.
Especially since they and others had already done most of the smartphone ground work for Apple to use: Mobile radio chips, handheld antenna basics, and even what basic functions, apps and extra features that people expected in a smartphone of the time. (Along with a known set of common user dislikes that Apple could fix.)
More importantly, they and others had already created a worldwide radio, data and market infrastructure... at a cost of years and billions of dollars, while Apple sat on the sidelines and waited for the time to be ripe to jump in and profit from it.
--
So yeah, likewise, Apple has the advantage of a hundred years of car making to look at, plus the experience of newcomers like Tesla. And a worldwide infrastructure of roads, laws (some recently pioneered by Google's self-driving experiments), experienced automotive talent, and a ready made consumer market.
It's all set up for a classic Apple entry into a known market with a product based around the work of others, but refined in some appealing way.
Last edited:
Yes, I can understand that this is what he was probably basing his decision off of. I just feel that, until it's revealed, you can't let those factors weigh quite so heavily on a decision.
(Not that I'm dying for him to go out and buy the Apple car when it's available. I just find it funny that people always feel so strongly about things before they have important info... though it's probably something I do myself from time to time.)
It's strange to think about an Apple Car but now that Tesla's around it makes more sense, since it's safe to say that it's definitely going to be all electric. But still, what would an Apple suspension be like? What would Apple's policies be like on repairs and warranty? Would they go all proprietary stuff or would they open up a bit? Would they have their own special brake pads, rims, wipers, light bulbs, etc... that would cost 10 times as much as the regular stuff? What size would it be? Would it be a small practical car or some big expensive pointless-city-4x4 type of thing? How many different models would it have?
Oh and like everything Apple makes, would it only come with a 1 year warranty? Sure, probably not but wow that would be weird for a change!
I'm just really curious, cars are just so different than everything else Apple has done, and there are many Apple policies that I just can't see being applied to cars (warranty void if opened, impossible to repair anything yourself, unable to downgrade, unusually high prices, expensive accessories that you can't even go without (think MacBook USB-C adapter), etc). I'm sure they'd change a lot of those policies but how? Apple would have to change so much to pull this off.
Oh and like everything Apple makes, would it only come with a 1 year warranty? Sure, probably not but wow that would be weird for a change!
I'm just really curious, cars are just so different than everything else Apple has done, and there are many Apple policies that I just can't see being applied to cars (warranty void if opened, impossible to repair anything yourself, unable to downgrade, unusually high prices, expensive accessories that you can't even go without (think MacBook USB-C adapter), etc). I'm sure they'd change a lot of those policies but how? Apple would have to change so much to pull this off.
Almost.
His job is to say either yes, no or maybe.
I think you've hit the nail upon the head.
Battery technology is the single biggest impediment to electric cars for the masses. At the moment, it is not feasible. It is also not feasible for the foreseeable future. If a breakthrough does arrive, it will still be over ten years, and probably closer to twenty, before the technology becomes economic for the general public.
Mods: I apologise for the two posts in a row; not sure how to combine them.
Last edited by a moderator: