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> Basically all the bits which make a car valuable are outside any of Apple's competencies - transmission, suspension, air conditioning, heck even passenger sea

> Basically all the bits which make a car valuable are outside any of Apple's competencies - transmission, suspension, air conditioning, heck even passenger seating and ergonomics. Except for maybe passenger seating all of the things are commoditised by now, I think. I hope they take a shot at it, because competition never hurts and they still (despite their size) deliver outstanding innovative products

zippy5 6y ago
Your completely missing the point.. Honda sells commodities. Maserati sells status. Motorola sells commodities. Apple sells status. Computers are commodities, smart phones are commodities and at the end of day none of that stops people from buying from apple Cars make a ton of sense for apple because it’s a product which a decent percentage of people will all pay a premium to get the cool version.
- snowwrestler 6y ago
  Apple’s status is based on the capabilities of their products. They try to only make stuff that works really well; as a result they don’t make inexpensive stuff. But they don’t make very expensive stuff either, the type of stuff whose status is independent of its function, like the equivalent of $800 jeans. They’ve tried a couple times (gold Apple Watch for example) and it did not catch on. So, I think it’s fair to ask what unique functionality Apple will bring to a car to differentiate it from all the other cars. And from an internal perspective, Apple leaders have repeatedly said that they are only interested in new markets when they think they can have a transformative impact. So again, I think it’s fair to wonder what that impact might be. There’s undoubtedly more to their thinking than just slapping an Apple logo on a Hyundai.
  - yoz-y 6y ago
    Who knows what they could bring? When iPhone was rumoured the speculations were quite widely off from what Apple has actually put out. I think the only real difference between entering car business compared to other categories Apple has transformed is regulation. Cars need to look and behave a certain way because of laws in many cases.
seabird 6y ago
Those aspects of a vehicle are only commoditized if you discount the massive amount of time poured into design, integration, and manufacturing engineering. It's easy to buy some bolt-on aftermarket automotive product and attach it to your vehicle. Actually integrating that thing in a way that meets (sometimes conflicting) safety, reliability, manufacturing, cost, manpower, etc. requirements can be a special sort of hell that you wouldn't wish upon anybody.

zippy5 6y ago

Your completely missing the point.. Honda sells commodities. Maserati sells status. Motorola sells commodities. Apple sells status. Computers are commodities, smart phones are commodities and at the end of day none of that stops people from buying from apple Cars make a ton of sense for apple because it’s a product which a decent percentage of people will all pay a premium to get the cool version.

snowwrestler 6y ago
Apple’s status is based on the capabilities of their products. They try to only make stuff that works really well; as a result they don’t make inexpensive stuff. But they don’t make very expensive stuff either, the type of stuff whose status is independent of its function, like the equivalent of $800 jeans. They’ve tried a couple times (gold Apple Watch for example) and it did not catch on. So, I think it’s fair to ask what unique functionality Apple will bring to a car to differentiate it from all the other cars. And from an internal perspective, Apple leaders have repeatedly said that they are only interested in new markets when they think they can have a transformative impact. So again, I think it’s fair to wonder what that impact might be. There’s undoubtedly more to their thinking than just slapping an Apple logo on a Hyundai.
- yoz-y 6y ago
  Who knows what they could bring? When iPhone was rumoured the speculations were quite widely off from what Apple has actually put out. I think the only real difference between entering car business compared to other categories Apple has transformed is regulation. Cars need to look and behave a certain way because of laws in many cases.

seabird 6y ago

Those aspects of a vehicle are only commoditized if you discount the massive amount of time poured into design, integration, and manufacturing engineering. It's easy to buy some bolt-on aftermarket automotive product and attach it to your vehicle. Actually integrating that thing in a way that meets (sometimes conflicting) safety, reliability, manufacturing, cost, manpower, etc. requirements can be a special sort of hell that you wouldn't wish upon anybody.