Top Stories: Apple Car Canceled, iOS 17.4 Release Notes, and More

[MacRumors]

Apple shocked the world this week by canceling its long-running electric vehicle project into which it invested billions of dollars over the past decade. Rumors indicated the project had been struggling for years, but to see it officially end up on the chopping block is still quite startling.

Other news and rumors this week included the pending release of iOS 17.4 and the significant changes for EU users that come along with it, rumors about device support for iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 later this year, and more, so read on below for all the details!

Apple Cancels Electric Car Project

Apple this week reportedly canceled its long-rumored electric vehicle project after years of setbacks. The report said that some employees on the team will shift to working on generative AI, which is expected to be a tentpole feature of iOS 18, while others may be laid off.

Following the news, we shared a detailed recap of the Apple Car's history dating back to the project's inception around 2014, including some of the challenges faced. Dan and Hartley also discussed the developments in this week's episode of The MacRumors Show.

iOS 17.4 is Coming Soon: Here's Apple's Full Release Notes

iOS 17.4 includes several changes to the App Store, Safari, and more in the EU, as a result of new regulations under the Digital Markets Act.

For a complete list of other new features and changes coming to the iPhone with iOS 17.4, read Apple's full release notes for the update.

Apple is expected to release iOS 17.4 on or before March 6, the deadline for complying with the Digital Markets Act. In advance of the release, Apple has published a deep dive into the steps it has taken to try to keep users safe among the changes, while Spotify, Epic Games, and others have protested that the changes do not comply with the intent of the act.

iOS 18 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhone Models

A private X/Twitter account with a proven track record for iOS-related information this week shared alleged iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 compatibility details.

We have shared a full list of iPhone models that are rumored to support iOS 18, as well as a full list of iPad models that are rumored to support iPadOS 18. Both software updates are expected to be unveiled at Apple's annual developers conference WWDC in June.

Apple Expands Do-It-Yourself Repair Program to M3 Macs

Apple this week expanded its self-service repair program in the U.S. and Europe to support M3 Macs, including the 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and iMac variously equipped with M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips.

Parts, tools, and manuals are now available from Apple for customers who wish to attempt repairing these Macs, but Apple of course still recommends that most customers visit an Apple Store or other authorized repair shop.

HomePod With 'iPad-Like Display' Rumored to Launch in 2025 at Earliest

Apple is still working on a new HomePod speaker with an "iPad-like display," but the device is unlikely to launch until 2025 at the earliest, according to the latest word from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Concept rendering​

Gurman reiterated that Apple has also explored a device that combines an Apple TV, HomePod, and FaceTime camera, along with iPad-like smart displays that could be magnetically attached to a wall in a house.

Not-So-FineWoven iPhone Case 'Browning Like a Rotten Banana'

Apple last year stopped selling leather accessories, including iPhone cases. Instead, it introduced a new fabric material called FineWoven.

Unfortunately for Apple, the FineWoven cases for iPhones have received lots of criticism, with many customers complaining about quality issues after extended usage. The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern said her case is "browning like a rotten banana" after just five months.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

Article Link: Top Stories: Apple Car Canceled, iOS 17.4 Release Notes, and More

 

[xbjllb]

C'mon, Apple couldn't make anything but Jetsons aircars. How long has it been since 1961 now?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

So with the cancellation of "Titan" and with Vpro already launched, is there any other "biggie", "next big thing" creation rumored in the incubator? Because surely a company the size of Apple has other brand new- not iterative- things in development. I hang around here enough, yet find myself drawing a blank of something else that has been regularly rumored and seems like it could be BIG.

Else, with Titan terminated and Vpro already launched, do we perceive the "next big thing" cupboard seems bare?

I suppose someone will sling Apple AI but that's not a product but software running atop existing products. We won't be buying AI, we'll be buying the new iDevice or Mac with new AI software features. What's the next big product (not iterative)?

 

[klasma]

So with the cancellation of "Titan" and with Vpro already launched, is there any other "biggie", "next big thing" creation rumored in the incubator? Because surely a company the size of Apple has other brand new- not iterative- things in development. I hang around here enough, yet find myself drawing a blank of something else that has been regularly rumored and seems like it could be BIG.

Else, with Titan terminated and Vpro already launched, do we perceive the "next big thing" cupboard seems bare?

I suppose someone will sling Apple AI but that's not a product but software running atop existing products. We won't be buying AI, we'll be buying the new iDevice or Mac with new AI software features. What's the next big product (not iterative)?

I would welcome a state of affairs where there’s no “next big thing”. If the current “things” don’t satisfy, the next thing won’t either. Besides, there’s still much room for improvements on the software side of things.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Yes, I throughly share a great passion for FOCUS on software to make existing "things" better. I completely miss "just works" Apple (too).

Nevertheless, Apple Inc. may struggle to maintain growth momentum without adding more breadth to the product mix... and that probably isn't accomplished with more iterative launches (slightly bigger that, different color this, slightly faster that, new button here, etc).

Assumption in #3 is that Apple could both improve software AND have different talent working on major "next big things." Else, consider simple questions: Are we at/near peak iPhone? peak iPad? peak Mac?

Do any of those have any "big growth hops" still in them? And if not, what's next? Or does another dramatic growth stock transform into an income stock? Where are the big new ideas... and then rumors of those things getting development attention and/or nearing time to roll out to the market? Else, where are the big acquisition rumors in which a company like Apple could "buy" big, "next big things" developed by others? I don't recall seeing much rumor about either.

 

[scrapesleon]

when they released fine woven they were saying it was better than leather look how the tables turn

 

[Yujenisis]

Concept rendering​

Gurman reiterated that Apple has also explored a device that combines an Apple TV, HomePod, and FaceTime camera, along with iPad-like smart displays that could be magnetically attached to a wall in a house.

The iMac G4 is my favorite of all of Apple’s designs and its beauty and functionality have yet to be beaten by today’s flat screen iMacs. Adjusting the iMac G4’s screen was an effortless joy and screamed the kind of perfected unity of design and functionality that makes people compare Jobs/Ives to the greatest designers of the 20th Century.

While only an artist’s concept, and arguably an uninspired one, I really hope Apple brings back this design for a HomePod or really any other product for that matter.

 

[Fuzzball84]

I would welcome a state of affairs where there’s no “next big thing”. If the current “things” don’t satisfy, the next thing won’t either. Besides, there’s still much room for improvements on the software side of things.

I really really hope that they just focus on fewer devices and make them the best devices they can be... I feel they are spread too far out on hardware and haven't focused on quality with regards to the software.

 

[Le Big Mac]

The iMac G4 is my favorite of all of Apple’s designs and its beauty and functionality have yet to be beaten by today’s flat screen iMacs. Adjusting the iMac G4’s screen was an effortless joy and screamed the kind of perfected unity of design and functionality that makes people compare Jobs/Ives to the greatest designers of the 20th Century.

While only an artist’s concept, and arguably an uninspired one, I really hope Apple brings back this design for a HomePod or really any other product for that matter.

Agree.

Though trying to imagine how powerful a magnet you'd have to install in your wall to hold that up.

(A bracket held in with drywall anchors/screws would be much more effective.

 

[hagar]

I would welcome a state of affairs where there’s no “next big thing”. If the current “things” don’t satisfy, the next thing won’t either. Besides, there’s still much room for improvements on the software side of things.

I hope you don’t work in an R&D dept somewhere. “EVERYTHING’s been invented already! Moving on.”

 

[klasma]

I hope you don’t work in an R&D dept somewhere. “EVERYTHING’s been invented already! Moving on.”

Progress doesn’t imply that there needs to be a “next big thing”. There are too many half-polished things being left behind for the new shiny thing, which also will be left behind half-polished for the next shiny thing after that. That’s not the kind of progression I find useful and appealing.

As a counterexample, I’m looking forward to the OLED iPads with (hopefully) landscape camera and (hopefully) reduced weight. That’s useful, but not a “next big thing”.

 

[Avatar74]

I hope you don’t work in an R&D dept somewhere. “EVERYTHING’s been invented already! Moving on.”

R&D is a lot more than "next big thing"... I think what they were basically saying is that incremental development is better than trying to make every project a moonshot.

I'm not endorsing either view here but this is a subject worth analysis. Apple has helped contribute to a culture of instant gratification so much so that John Lithgow has a line in the movie Interstellar that reflects upon a time when there was "a new gadget every week".

The challenge with trying to make every product a moonshot is that you can be too far ahead of the time and not have all the right technology yet to make it appealing to a large enough audience, or you can be woefully behind the times. Apple has been both at different points in their history.

And sometimes, like with HyperCard, you can completely fail to realize what you have.

The problem with companies at Apple's scale is that nothing short of a moonshot really moves the needle in terms of expected growth, and if they stagnate then nobody is happy, not even the people criticizing them for chasing moonshots.

It reminds me of that game I used to play on the //c ages ago, Tai-Pan! If you don't know what it is, Dope Wars was basically a cheap knockoff. If you find the negative interest bug, it's a great demonstration of the power of compounded annual growth, and there's a point at which your wealth can grow so big that there's nothing you can buy or sell, no pirates booty you can collect, to move that number... you're making more money on the interest accruing just incurring turns with no action.

But companies aren't games. They employ thousands of people, and serve millions of customers. And to fold up shop tomorrow would also crater the economy by causing panic in the markets... these are all just unrealistic scenarios. So, the company presses on, setting and meeting or exceeding forecast targets, doing the dance, yada yada.

So this is the conundrum for what is basically now the world's largest consumer electronics company. They won't make everyone happy with small updates, and they won't make everyone happy with moonshots.

Whether we or they like it or not, Apple's not the runner with the hammer any more.

They're Big Brother now.

 

[atomic.flip]

I hope you don’t work in an R&D dept somewhere. “EVERYTHING’s been invented already! Moving on.”

Apple is no longer a company that innovates. They tend to refine but not innovate. Steve Jobs died in 2011 and it was estimated then that he had provided Apple with a ten year product roadmap…. Looking at how things have been panning out I’d say that they’ve run through the life of that roadmap and now it’s evident there isn’t much on the horizon.

If they do innovate it will be through acquisition but not internally as they once did. RIP Steve Jobs.

 

[gtwester]

Apple is no longer a company that innovates. They tend to refine but not innovate. Steve Jobs died in 2011 and it was estimated then that he had provided Apple with a ten year product roadmap…. Looking at how things have been panning out I’d say that they’ve run through the life of that roadmap and now it’s evident there isn’t much on the horizon.

If they do innovate it will be through acquisition but not internally as they once did. RIP Steve Jobs.

"Estimated"? Use some common sense. Things change direction and new products come out of no where in 10 years. Steve was not an engineer and didn't invent a single Apple product. Yes he was great at marketing and had vision but he didn't come up with the iPod, iPhone, iPad or the newest product Apple Vision so don't say Apple doesn't innovate because it sounds ridiculous.

 

[AndiG]

BMW doesn‘t need Apple to implement autonomous driving. Furthermore autonomous driving needs a tight integration of hard and spftware, so Apple will never get there where BMW is now without its own hardware.

The germans did it again

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

What's the betting Apple doesn't stop doing self-driving R&D.

Just because Apple cancelled the car doesn't mean they will never make a car. My bet is Tim is looking for the right man to helm the project and will start from scratch now from a place of fresh ideas.

Despite what people think, it's still early days in the EV space. Dyson wanted his EV to have 600 miles of range (EV early-adopters don't understand how a product guy thinks about things like EVs) and a certain kind of price and that was currently not commercially viable, and he has a hard rule about taking outside investment, so he got out of the game.

When such time as those things are much more readily possible I think we could see players like Apple reenter the race. And like I say, in the meantime their mapping, self-driving and in-car software experience R&D won't stop. And their may be more functional and mechanical areas of car R&D Apple will continue to do too. Apple didn't want the next three years to pass and Wall St. to be waiting with bated breath for this car for a variety of reasons. By them leaking that they have now cancelled the project it allows them to start with fresh ideas, and at a smaller scale until they have a fundamental goals in place to give the project a full green light again under a new super-secret codename. Tim and Co. probably decided they didn't want to launch into the marketplace with less mature self-driving software than the other guys, and wished to do some five-plus more years of work on it before they are ready to go there. And in the meantime they will rethink the project as that R&D is ongoing and components such as batteries continue to comes down in price. Who knows, they may even try to acquire a big player.

BMW doesn‘t need Apple to implement autonomous driving. Furthermore autonomous driving needs a tight integration of hard and spftware, so Apple will never get there where BMW is now without its own hardware.

Car makers will continue to invest in this area and won't want to give this amount of control over to traditional software players.

 

[AndiG]

Just because Apple cancelled the car doesn't mean they will never make a car. My bet is Tim is looking for the right man to helm the project and will start from scratch now. What are the best Apple doesn't stop doing the self-driving R&D.

Apple cannot make a car and after all, can Apple create anything but the iPhone - today, without Jobs? With Tim controlling the show, this isn‘t very likely.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Apple cannot make a car and after all, can Apple create anything but the iPhone - today, without Jobs? With Tim controlling the show, this isn‘t very likely.

Steve would have launched a car by now for sure. I guess time will ultimately shine more light on this situation. From my POV, however, EV range sucks. The reason Dyson wanted 600 miles of range is that's what normal cars can do now. EV enthusiasts can have blinders on and write all kinds of stuff out of touch with what the average car buyer wants. EVs are maturing but it's slow and will take another ten+ years I think to begin to settle down a bit more in terms of range anxiety for the average person. An ideal would be having such good range and at an affordable price that most people never need to plug in away from their driveway. And that is a long time away. The only reason people refuel in a gas station now is because they don't have a driveway pump. If they did most would never need any fuel away from their driveway, and EVs need to get to that point.

It wouldn't surprise me at all to see Apple launch a car within, say, ten years. But, yeah, time will tell.

 

[spcopsmac21]

when they released fine woven they were saying it was better than leather look how the tables turn

Yea and it’s been RADIO SILENCE since around OCTOBER on fine woven.

My local Apple reseller that’s been in business for 22 years refuses to carry it. He has display models and will order it if a customer wants it.

That’s about it.

 

[I7guy]

I really like the finewoven case. And while it's a mixed bag of reviews, no different than other apple products, I like it. If the material can be made more durable, that would be great.

 

[Realityck]

BMW doesn‘t need Apple to implement autonomous driving. Furthermore autonomous driving needs a tight integration of hard and spftware, so Apple will never get there where BMW is now without its own hardware.

The germans did it again

Reactive machines are not self awareness, this so called autonomous driving was impossible with current AI from the start. You can have many odd driving situations on the road with others or just driving with a fork in the road where a so called autonomous auto pilot will fail occasionally compared to a human being. It's like the old DMV rule think before doing when something unexpected happens, don't react. Apple can't possibly program in every situation even if they collect data for 10 years for a reactive machine, because there an indefinite amount of variables. Humans learn to drive over a long time and get better. How does a reactive machine with limited memory accomplish that?

 

[jjwwqq]

Apple should switch back to leather. No brainer.

 

[AndiG]

Reactive machines are not self awareness, this so called autonomous driving was impossible with current AI from the start. You can have many odd driving situations on the road with others or just driving with a fork in the road where a so called autonomous auto pilot will fail occasionally compared to a human being. It's like the old DMV rule think before doing when something unexpected happens, don't react. Apple can't possibly program in every situation even if they collect data for 10 years for a reactive machine, because there an indefinite amount of variables. Humans learn to drive over a long time and get better. How does a reactive machine with limited memory accomplish that?

How should an AI draw a picture write poem? How could it write code? How should an AI make a call to a,restaurant oand order tables? Well that‘s,where we are now. Not Apple of course but all the others.

BMW can‘t fully autonomous driving now. But with level 3 it offers the most advanced system today. Basically that‘s all I want. Drive to the highway, let the car do,the rest. When you leave the highway, the drivers takes control again - perfect.