Apple’s long-rumored self-driving car project might not churn out a car at all. Instead, it might just be an electric minibus.
According to a sketchy new rumor, Apple engineers have supposedly created a new minibus, which should be able to drive autonomously, if it ever hits the road.
Apple’s autonomous car project is certainly exciting for Apple fans. It’s likely to be a while longer before the company is ready to officially launch what it’s been working on, however.
That’s according to a new “Disengagement Report” which covers the period December 2017 through November 2018. It refers to instances in which self-driving vehicles being tested on California roads had to pass control back to the human driver behind the wheel.
Apple’s self-driving car development could be headed for a cliff. Maybe. A questionable report from industry analysts says that there are layoffs in this division and the whole project might even be scrapped.
The cause is supposedly the slowdown in iPhone sales caused by the weakening Chinese economy. The reduction in revenue leaves less room for non-core programs.
A car designed to test Apple’s self-driving system was involved in a minor accident Monday, but a human was driving at the time. This is only the second such crash of an Apple car on record.
Google, and its autonomous vehicle spinoff Waymo, haven’t been so lucky over the years.
Apple’s fleet of self-driving cars is expanding at an astonishing pace after starting with just three vehicles a year ago.
New records posted by the California Department of Motor Vehicles reveals that Apple currently has the third largest number of autonomous cars in the state, but it’s closing the gap on the Google’s self-driving car project that holds the number two spot.
This week on The CultCast: Alex Jones and free speech, Part 2. Plus: Ming-Chi Kuo says the Apple Car is real, and you might drive it off the lot in 2023! And stay tuned for our most-loved tech! We’ll discuss the gadgets and apps we can’t go without.
Doug Field, a former Vice President of Mac Hardware Engineering at Apple, has returned to the company after spending several years at Tesla.
The interesting part? At Tesla, Field was employed as the Vice President of Vehicle Programs with a role overseeing development of new electric vehicles for the company. Now that he is back at Apple, he is reportedly working as part of the “Project Titan” Apple Car group.
The former Apple employee arrested for allegedly stealing plans for the Apple Car has pleaded not guilty to his charge.
Xiaolang Zhang was indicted on one single charge of trade secret theft. He’s accused of stealing a 25-page blueprint for a circuit board for Apple’s autonomous vehicle.
An Apple employee who downloaded blueprints for its self-driving car circuit board and then attempted to flee with them to China has been arrested.
Xiaolang Zhang supposedly told Apple of his plans to join a Chinese self-driving car startup, Xiaopeng Motors, shortly before booking his flight. He was arrested on July 7 after going through the security gates at San Jose airport.
In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine: The public beta of iOS 12 is out now, so anyone can download it and install it on their device. But what does the new version of iOS actually do? Apple introduced Screen Time, the great new Do Not Disturb, and the powerful Siri Shortcuts at the WWDC 2018 keynote in June. But until you dig into them, you won’t have an idea how great these new features are, along with many more.
You’ll find that story and more in this issue. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.
