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Apple Car: Everything you need to know about the upcoming Tesla rival

Apple is reportedly developing an electric car, bringing its unique expertise into the automotive industry. Here’s all we know about it so far.

For some years now, there have been rumours abound that Apple is hard at work in manufacturing its own vehicle – and not just any vehicle, but an electric one that drives autonomously. As of yet however, we’ve had no official confirmation of the car’s existence. While we wait to see the curtain go up on a car like no other, here’s all the news and rumours about the project so far.

When will the Apple Car be released?

The Apple Car has apparently been in development ever since 2014 according to MacRumors, under the codename of Project Titan. However, its release certainly isn’t just around the corner.

According to Reuters, Apple is aiming for its automobile to be on the market by 2024, while industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo estimates that it will be launched within the 2025-2027 timeframe at the earliest.

Will the Apple Car be a solo project?

Car manufacturing really benefits from an economy of scale, and it’s a tricky gamble even for an enormously wealthy company like Apple to start up a brand new production plant out of the blue. So from the start, it’s always been assumed that Apple would partner up with an existing brand to realise its ambitions.

Despite first confirming that it was in talks about the project with Apple, South Korean firm Hyundai then strongly denied cooperation with the tech company on “developing autonomous vehicles”. We’re none the wiser as to which company will get the undoubtedly lucrative contract in the future but Bloomberg reported that there are apparently six different companies in the running.

What will be different about the Apple Car?

At this stage in time, we still know relatively little about the Apple Car. However, we do know that it will almost certainly be an autonomous vehicle, thanks to official recognition and some sneak peeks.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook said on the subject: “We’re focusing on autonomous systems. It’s a core technology that we view as very important. We sort of see it as the mother of all AI projects.”

Coupled with this official declaration, MacRumors also posted the above video of what appears to be a self-driving car on the streets of California, presumably a test subject of Apple’s. 

In fact, given the intensity of rumours surrounding the self-driving aspect, some pundits have speculated that Apple’s car program may in fact be nothing more than self-driving technology that can be installed in other vehicles, rather than an own-brand automobile. At this stage of the game, it’s anyone’s guess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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