Hyundai confirmed Thursday that it engaged in talks with Apple, lending more credibility to the possibility of an Apple Car co-developed with an established automotive company.
A spokesperson for Hyundai Motors provided the confirmation (which also mentioned Apple speaking with a “variety of global automakers”) to CNBC. The statement followed a report from Korean website Hankyung that claimed Apple was working with Hyundai on both the car and battery technology to power it.
Apple’s plan to make a self-driving vehicle is back on track, according to an unconfirmed report from a very reliable source. But the Apple Car won‘t be out for several years.
Still, as part of the effort the company recently snapped up Tesla’s head of autonomous vehicle software development to work on the project.
Apple would only need to capture 2% of the mobility market with a possible Apple Car to equal the revenue that it currently gets from the iPhone, according to Morgan Stanley researchers.
While that’s certainly easier said than done, it’s an interesting observation when considering Apple’s chances of turning its automotive plans into a potential financial windfall.
Foxconn, Apple’s largest supplier, looks to be getting in on the electric vehicle business. According to a Monday report from Bloomberg, the Taiwanese manufacturer is in talks to invest in Chinese EV startup Byton.
Foxconn reportedly plans to invest around $200 million in the company to begin mass-manufacturing the anticipated Byton M-Byte car by Q1 2022. An announcement could come as early as today.
A respected Apple analyst and prognosticator threw cold water on recent reports about a future Apple Car arriving in the next few years. Ming-Chi Kuo says it’s possible a self-driving vehicle from Apple could land in 2025, but he wouldn’t be surprised if the launch doesn’t happen before 2028.
Volkswagen Chairman of the Board Herbert Diess says he’s excited to see what Apple’s “virtually unlimited” means and resources will mean for the auto industry.
In a German-language post on LinkedIn, Diess wrote:
Apple could have bought electric automaker Tesla at a bargain price, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. But Apple’s chief executive wasn’t interested.
Musk revealed this historic bombshell Tuesday, alongside his comments on a recent report about Apple’s plans for a self-driving vehicle.
Apple is reportedly prepping an an autonomous vehicle that’s aimed at the consumer market. Leaked information indicates Apple is going to make a car and sell it to the public, not just develop self-driving technology to license to other companies.
Apple Car production supposedly will begin in 2024 using cutting-edge battery technology.
Apple’s new over-the-ear headphones are kind of over the top. From the high-end design to the sky-high price tag, AirPods Max certainly made quite a splash this week.
They sold out almost immediately after Tuesday’s unveiling. And that weird AirPods Max case got mercilessly mocked online, as people compared it to a bra and a sleep mask, among other things.
It’s not all AirPods Max this week, though: Apple TV+ started streaming Wolfwalkers, which our reviewer called the “best animated film of the year.” Plus, Apple’s mysterious self-driving car project raced back into the rumor fast lane.
Read up in this week’s free edition of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now for your iOS device. Or use the links below to get to the stories on the web.
Apple is moving ahead with an autonomous vehicle. It’s reportedly already talking to component makers and might unveil the Apple Car in 2024 or 2025.
Apple’s self-driving car division is reportedly on the move, but not in the usual way. The project has been transferred into Apple’s artificial intelligence division.
The reorg comes at the retirement of Bob Mansfield, who’d been managing the company’s not-so-secret autonomous vehicle development.
Apple has long been rumored to be working on an Apple Car. But if you live in the United Kingdom, you can buy one. Right now. Today. Kind of.
According to Car Dealer Magazine, Apple is selling off some of its fleet of white Subaru Imprezas which have spent the past year driving around the U.K., collecting mapping data for Apple Maps’ “Look Around” feature.
Amazon is buying Zoox, a self-driving car startup that employs at least 17 people who previously worked on Apple’s Project Titan.
The Information first reported the purchase of Zoox, and Amazon confirmed it Friday in a blog post. The deal could set Amazon back upward of $1 billion.
Have $499,000 to spare and looking to show off your Apple fandom credentials? A replica of the Apple-sponsored 1979 Porsche 935 K3 race car, which once raced at Le Mans, has shown up for sale online.
Apple sponsored the original car, operated by racing team Dick Barbour Racing, in 1980, only a few years into Apple’s history. That vehicle, which features the Apple Computer name and rainbow colors, is now part of radio host and podcaster Adam Corolla’s extensive car collection. While the model for sale here is just a replica, it’s still a pretty stunning collector’s piece — as suggested by the sizable asking price.
Only 23 of Apple’s registered self-driving cars were active between December 2018 and November 2019, according to data provided to California’s Department of Motor Vehicles. In total, Apple’s fleet of modified Lexus RX450h SUVs travelled 7,544 miles during the period.
That’s down from the 79,745 miles its vehicles travelled in the previous year.
Apple reportedly added code to iPhone and Apple Watch to let these devices function as car keys, giving users one less thing to constantly carry around.
The company began work on such a feature years ago, and supposedly how has finally reached the point where it’s building the feature into iOS and watchOS.
The ex-Apple Car engineer charged with stealing confidential files from Cupertino apparently had something else of interest to U.S. prosecutors: a classified file from the Patriot missile program.
This turns what was previously a corporate espionage case into a potential national security one. Jizhong Chen was arrested by the FBI in January. At the time, he supposedly was trying to flee to China with details of Apple’s super-secret self-driving car project.
Currently, drivers only have the rearview and side mirrors of a car to let them know what’s going on behind them. But a new Apple invention describes an upgrade — that may eliminate blind spots by projecting mirrored images of the surrounding environment onto the window or windshield.
This could give the driver more contextual information about their surroundings, depending on where they are.
Apple has slightly increased the number of test drivers for its self-driving car project, although the total number of vehicles remains the same.
According to new figures from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Apple is currently testing 69 cars on public roads in California. That’s the same number it had in late April. However, Apple has increased its test drivers from 110 to 143 since then.
This week on The CultCast: Apple’s working on something BIG, and their massive increase in R&D spending proves it. Plus: we discuss all the surprises Apple unveiled in their recent earnings report, and it was another record breaker. And if you think your conversations with Siri are private, think again! Apple’s been caught reviewing your most personal sound bytes. And a new Moviepass competitor has emerged with a very interesting offer, but is it worth the price? All that and more!
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This week on The CultCast: A new report gives us a price tag and release date for the upcoming 16-inch MacBook Pro. Then: A new hire signals that the Apple Car is far from dead; and there’s finally a way to get podcasts recommendations tailored just for you. Plus, stayed tuned for our favorite shows and Comic-Con trailer in an all-new What We’re Into!
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Another high profile Tesla executive has joined Apple’s team, possibly signaling some significant progress is being made on the development of Apple’s car project.
The question of whether Apple is building a physical Apple Car or just a software platform hasn’t been confirmed either way.
But there are a few hints, such as the fact that Apple was just granted a patent for a special suspension system for a car. Whether that part of the project continues remains to be seen.
Tesla and Apple have previously engaged in a sort of cold war over next-gen car technologies. However, Elon Musk’s automotive company is now seeking help from Apple — to catch a suspected thief.
The issue involves a lawsuit put forward by Tesla against a former employee, who jumped ship to a Chinese rival while in possession of Tesla secrets. Apple has faced a similar problem in the past.
As part of its Project Titan initiative, Apple has invented some smart tech for improving detection of road signs and other vehicles on the road in low visibility situations.
This could ramp up safety in situations such as an autonomous Apple Car driving in foggy, snowy, low light or otherwise hard-to-see situations.
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