Tim Cook Comments on Apple Car Rumors, Says There are Technologies That Will 'Revolutionize' Car Industry

[jimbobb24]

Three biggest technologies coming outside of medicine are probably augmented reality, robot cars, and deep computer learning (brute force solutions to computer problems that have baffled us for ages that for shorthand we call AI).

Robocars save lives, redesign cities, save amazing amounts of lost human time and productivity. I hope it get figured out before I am too old to enjoy it.

It's an exciting future.

 

[campyguy]

My earlier snarky comments aside, IMHO a larger issue that will affect savings accounts - this coming from a civil engineering professional who has had a hand in designing and/or constructing many, many bridge replacements and retrofits and worked on several light rail construction projects - I'd rather see infrastructure improvement money directed at addressing getting people *out* of cars before designing nifty-new stuff for that industry. I shudder, literally, at how much of our transportation system is shot/done/crumbling/failing - if most of you here reading this knew what I know and have seen a quick drive to the mall or store might give you a bit of pause; the 10-year period of Congress not approving transportation funding hasn't helped this mess.

I'm out of that industry so I feel I'm a bit more objective than my former counterparts. All of this talk and press about new tech really bugs me - I have a really nice, fast Benz but I'd have a hard time driving it on crumbling roads. Near where I'm at now, a few years ago, there was a breach in a retaining wall holding back material supporting a bridge abutment for a bridge within the Corps of Engineer's Right-of-Way and the bridge failed. It was never replaced - no money for a replacement, and that was 3 years ago. The detour is a bit of a PITA...

Consider the Portland-Vancouver commute - there's two bridges, one built in the 1910s (a Parker-type through-truss structure) and the other was built/completed in 1985 (I was there, the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge - he was a really nice person!). The former carries about 135k VPD (vehicles per day) and the latter about 145k VPD - traffic sucks pretty much every day with all of the commuters from Vancouver heading to Portland. The replacement for the I-5 Bridge has been forecast at around $4-5.5B, and that's never going to get funded...

The tech "breakthrough" ought to be utilizing some of the empty structures in Vancouver and constructing a fiberoptic tie and funding some relocations of businesses from Portland to Vancouver for Clark County residents. The cost will be significantly less than paying for a new bridge and completed a lot faster - and it'll get a lot of commuters off the road as well. But, getting commuters off the Interstate doesn't sell Teslas or Mercedes' or Buicks - keeping in mind the hundreds of miles of trolley track paved over in Portland around 100 years ago, courtesy of Mr. Ford's new autos...

I'd rather see an investment by Apple of a nationwide fiber network - sign me up... </rant>

 

[PizzaBoxStyle]

My earlier snarky comments aside, IMHO a larger issue that will affect savings accounts - this coming from a civil engineering professional who has had a hand in designing and/or constructing many, many bridge replacements and retrofits and worked on several light rail construction projects - I'd rather see infrastructure improvement money directed at addressing getting people *out* of cars before designing nifty-new stuff for that industry. I shudder, literally, at how much of our transportation system is shot/done/crumbling/failing - if most of you here reading this knew what I know and have seen a quick drive to the mall or store might give you a bit of pause; the 10-year period of Congress not approving transportation funding hasn't helped this mess.

I'm out of that industry so I feel I'm a bit more objective than my former counterparts. All of this talk and press about new tech really bugs me - I have a really nice, fast Benz but I'd have a hard time driving it on crumbling roads. Near where I'm at now, a few years ago, there was a breach in a retaining wall holding back material supporting a bridge abutment for a bridge within the Corps of Engineer's Right-of-Way and the bridge failed. It was never replaced - no money for a replacement, and that was 3 years ago. The detour is a bit of a PITA...

Consider the Portland-Vancouver commute - there's two bridges, one built in the 1910s (a Parker-type through-truss structure) and the other was built/completed in 1985 (I was there, the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge - he was a really nice person!). The former carries about 135k VPD (vehicles per day) and the latter about 145k VPD - traffic sucks pretty much every day with all of the commuters from Vancouver heading to Portland. The replacement for the I-5 Bridge has been forecast at around $4-5.5B, and that's never going to get funded...

The tech "breakthrough" ought to be utilizing some of the empty structures in Vancouver and constructing a fiberoptic tie and funding some relocations of businesses from Portland to Vancouver for Clark County residents. The cost will be significantly less than paying for a new bridge and completed a lot faster - and it'll get a lot of commuters off the road as well. But, getting commuters off the Interstate doesn't sell Teslas or Mercedes' or Buicks - keeping in mind the hundreds of miles of trolley track paved over in Portland around 100 years ago, courtesy of Mr. Ford's new autos...

I'd rather see an investment by Apple of a nationwide fiber network - sign me up... </rant>

Great insight!

I'm in the Midwest and this is true for us too! Our roads are ****, just to name one problem we are facing over here.

Citizens complain to the local government that the city streets are just pothole after pothole (they are), city reps say "we don't have any money," eventually they resurface the street in the cheapest way possible, but then we discover that, oh, one of the century+ old sewer lines below the street is leaking and that we've all been driving on a thin layer of asphalt over a sinkhole.

On the federally funded highways, I suspect that state officials are using construction to try and replace the loss of manufacturing, and so our three major highways are under non-stop construction. It makes my daily commute very unsafe and sometimes very challenging. It's usually not other passenger traffic/drivers I worry about, it's being rammed into a concrete guard wall by a semi that's too large to fit in one of the barely-sized lanes where they've made two lanes where it used to be one lane, passing through a construction zone. And this is all happening on I-75, which probably handles way more traffic than it should for the shape it's in.

I think eventually some cities and metro areas are going to have to collapse in on themselves to survive. Higher density mixed-use spaces, making the autonomous EV moot and of trivial importance.

And oh, I know what you mean about the trolley tracks... a GM subsidiary bought our trolley lines up and then shut them down over half a century ago.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Oh just like how they are revolutionizing the watch and the television?

Both the watch and the Apple TV are stepping stones to much bigger and more lucrative things.

 

[osaga]

IMHO the only way Apple could dominate/revolutionize the car industry would be by creating a fully autonomous car and selling it on a subscription model. Like you pay $200 a month and summon one to your door when you need to go somewhere. That is so far off in terms of technology that it couldn't happen for decades or until some serious advances are made in AI. Like HAL 9000 advanced.

Their other options for making money: Create a semi-autonomous car that's a little more advance than anything we've seen so far and sell them. In which case they'd be competing with all the other car manufacturers, who will catch up within a couple years. OR they could develop the software and systems needed for advanced semi-autonomous cars and sell that to automakers. The only way that's profitable is if whatever system is used is patented and inherently exclusive to any competition by means of some system uniformity that may be required. Their liability exposure would still be immense depending on how autonomous it's supposed to be.

Inventing a better battery that is cheaper, faster, safer, longer, would be incredibly advantageous. But if you invented the wheel, would you implement it by selling just one car? No way.

Anyway, I think self driving cars are something that will evolve slowly, over a long long period of time. The fact that Apple is even trying, makes me think the people at the top are naive, or surrounded by yessmen.

 

[Sonmi451]

Well he's right, there are technologies... but Tesla is utilizing all of them.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

If Jobs were still alive, we wouldn't have this thread. We need to figure out a way to resurrect Jobs.

Maybe that's where Apples R&D Budget is going. Cloning Jobs, and transplanting his existing brain into his new body.

And with that feat, Tim Cook becomes the greatest CEO in the history of the world.

 

[ndolebay]

Yeah yeah, I still remember when they described iWatch they use this word.

 

[amegicfox]

why is this idiot still at apple ?

 

[9081094]

Tim has great products in the pipeline...going on 5 years now. Any day now.

We need a plumber, there must be some hiccup in the pipeline.
[doublepost=1477461534][/doublepost]

Both the watch and the Apple TV are stepping stones to much bigger and more lucrative things.

Eventually yes. If there wasn't competition it also may come through. Somehow I'm not so convinced Apple is competitive anymore and have more trust in google etc.

 

[Sandybox]

...and he's off again. This "amazing stuff soon" BS just makes him look like an idiot. If you have something insightful to say, say it for heavens sake. If you don't just shut up and go back to being a bean-counting supply chain manager.

 

[8692574]

We have some interesting product in our pipeline™.

 

[monstruo]

"Going to be Amazing", "Most advanced", "How magical"
That's what he always tell everyone!

 

[Smartass]

All he does is talk bulls**** about how there's this new technology coming, how nobody know it needs it, how it's magical bla bla bla. The guy has no idea what he's talking about, he just flips the words around and tries so hard that nobody understands what he's saying in every interview.

 

[Lone Deranger]

Blah blah blah.. more tedious, tiresome Tim talk. Put your company's money where your mouth is Tim and stop ignoring (professional) Mac users.

 

[Macneck]

Hehe! Revolutionize? Like the Apple Watch or seriously?
[doublepost=1477472928][/doublepost]

I want two smart solutions. First, a remote control for machine gun turret in my trunk. Second, absent a solution for my first wont, I'll buy an app that directs me to the nearest "Bob" lane on the Interstate...

Oh, man... The machine gun turret has been in my wish list for years! The BIG one, for trucks, would be called something like "iMachine Plus" and the wee one, for Hondas Fit and that like, would be the "iMachine". Now THAT would really revolutionize the car industry!

 

[Col4bin]

Tim Cook Comments on Apple Car Rumors, Says There are Technologies That Will 'Revolutionize' Car Industry.

Uh-huh, more new products in the pipeline, eh Tim?

 

[maflynn]

Uh-huh, more new products in the pipeline, eh Tim?

Yep, its the same old tired line of him saying Apple has some magical innovative products in the pipeline, just wait

 

[Smartass]

Both the watch and the Apple TV are stepping stones to much bigger and more lucrative things.

like what? Apple TV's now already how old, 9 years already? And what did that bring to the table? The stepping stones of apple tv is more or less a dead end stairway. People keep expecting how the next gen Apple TV will revolutionize TV yet its been the same locked-down crap, there's a lot of better options out there and Apple TV is more or less a failed product. But apple doesnt want to admit it, they keep saying its their "hobby" or sort of.

And dont even start with smartwatches. The whole smartwatch market and smartwatch product is a total failure, they didnt bring anything new other than removing the need to reach with your hand into the pocket and pull out the phone. Magical.

 

[iapplelove]

There is only one CEO interested and passionate about changing the car industry. And it's Elon Musk.

Tim has too many rich friends with too much interest at stake to change that industry

 

[maflynn]

And dont even start with smartwatches. The whole smartwatch market and smartwatch product is a total failure, they didnt bring anything new other than removing the need to reach with your hand into the pocket and pull out the phone. Magical.

Its not panning out the way people had hoped. I think people like Cook saw the popularity of the Fitbit and thought they could do a better more generalized product but instead they totally misread what the public wanted.

The Apple watch isn't a failure, but it isn't a barn burner either, its not going to go down in the annals of successful products as something that changed the industry.

 

[Thunderhawks]

Tim's a broken record. He says the same thing every time.

He sticks to very broad and general answers. Partly due to secrecy or because he lacks the ability to articulate a big picture vision...assuming he has one.

He was never hired for vision. He was pushed into that position because of money, which he knows how to generate.
Everybody including him knows that he is not a visionary.
So, for now he has to listen to the creative brains at the company (as good or bad as they may be) while trying to find somebody.
If he did find one , that person would probably try to take over and oust him.

Evets Sboj :I envision that eventually we all have a car that fits into our pants pockets.
You then tell Siri: I have to take a ride.
Touch ID the car, the car enlarges to the size needed for current traffic and how many occupants and Siri says: okay take a right on Sunset boulevard.
Sheer magic.

 

[Bone Ranger]

What ever happened with Marc Newson? Thought he was
on the car project. They hired him and we never heard anything as far as I know.

 

[Stpike2001]

For the love of god, if you would only focus on your three main products - phone, pad, mac, you may be able to revive Jobs' vision. It would be, let us say, courageous?

 

[spacemnspiff]

Somehow I'm not so convinced Apple is competitive anymore and have more trust in google etc.

Apart from Search, Google has yet to produce any product that is of economic value.
Most of the Google products are either half baked or are incremental improvement of acquired products. If Google is guilty improving acquired products, then that falls in line with what folks here are accusing Tim of, keep the Jobs Apple machine chugging along.