8 ms·

Apple Car expected to shake up auto industry in Asia and world

35 points by boxmonster 6y ago

neya 6y ago
As much as I love Apple, they can't even get Siri to work right, how would they be able to do proper Tesla level AI is beyond me.
- bonestamp2 6y ago
  Agreed, but they are a leader in industrial design and user experience design, so they might have some really compelling concepts for the interior/exterior design, ergonomics, storage, seating, user interface, etc.
- kushalbohra 6y ago
  haha, totally agree on this one!
- johneth 6y ago
  What's 'Tesla level' AI? Is it just their dangerously misnamed 'self driving' tech that's really just adaptive cruise control that every manufacturer has?
- Zelphyr 6y ago
  Their problem with Siri is that their stance on privacy gets in the way in this regard. They won't mine and use the massive amounts of data that they need to train their AI. To your point; that does mean they probably won't have as good a driver assist system as others because to do so would mean they would have to keep tabs on where and how people drive.
  - nvarsj 6y ago
    Apple had no problem recording Siri conversations until The Guardian called them out on it.
- rusticpenn 6y ago
  The job of a car today is to move people from one place to another. AI is not yet required for an MVP.
inglor_cz 6y ago
In the context of recent events... If there is a planned demonstration of some uncouth people in a certain place, will your Apple Car simply refuse to drive you there? Or will it stop serving you once your GPS coordinates from your iPhone show that you were actually there? These would be absurd, almost troll-level questions a year ago, but I feel that now they must be pondered. Edit: from 4 to -2 points within two minutes and zero reactions. I do not think that this scenario should be taken lightly. The trend towards "you do not really own this thing" has been unfolding for a long time and there is no obvious red line where it would naturally stop. Edit 2: OK, let us ponder another scenario. Someone in China buys an Apple Car and, after some time, loses enough social credit that the government decides to deprive him of the ability to use his car. Will Apple comply with the demand and disable the car remotely or will it risk loss of the entire market? If Apple was ready to let you completely control your Apple Car, warts and all, those scenarios would be null and void. But given how tightly they control all the other hardware, these scenarios are possible.
- londons_explore 6y ago
  Pick between the news headlines: * Apple car found to have transported terrorists to sabotage Capitol building. Should those with morals be boycotting Apple? * Apple refuses service to terrorists. Apple tries to hold the country together and keep peace. If you were Apple, and had to pick between those headlines, which would you pick? When your company is built on your brand, it is suicide to associate yourself with something unpopular.
  - inglor_cz 6y ago
    An interesting consequence of the "safe" possibility. You would not be able to just come and watch some events out of curiosity. Several years ago, my GPS coordinates would indicate that I took part in a certain rather weird demo. The thing is, I just stood a few meters away taking photos, because some of the participants were ... bizarre to say the least. I am not sure if this excuse would help me in 2021.
  - MrPatan 6y ago
    You do whatever you want and then ban anything and anybody publishing anti-Apple headlines in your platforms. Win win!
88840-8855 6y ago
why is everyone so naive and expects a regular car? i will probably be some kind of 3-wheeler for 1 person or some gadget thing.
- bonestamp2 6y ago
  Yes. The Bloomberg reporting suggested the goal was to be a steering wheel absent living room on wheels.
- esrauch 6y ago
  I think a 3 wheel car is just pragmatically worse than a 4 wheel one. It would also be "uncool" which would make it really far off-brand for Apple. If it's intended to take you on roughly the same trips that a normal car is (to the grocery store/work/school/whatever generally 30+ minutes away) it basically will necessarily just be something that looks a lot like a regular car.
  - elicash 6y ago
    I don't think Apple would do this, but I also don't think the "uncool" claim is necessarily true: https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a13990/polaris-slingshot-three-wheeler/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a13990/polaris-slingsh...
    - esrauch 6y ago
      Fair enough, I was just imagining more like a Tuktuk with a single front wheel. But yeah, that kind of design seems more like what an Alienware electric car might be rather than an Apple one.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - gumby 6y ago
    I owned a Corbin Sparrow (3 wheel electric car from the early '00s) and indeed, it was suboptimal. The good: pretty stable, drive in commuter lane, able to park almost anywhere, registers as a motorcycle (cheaper than a conventional car). It had two wheels in front, so it wasn't unstable like a Reliant Robin. The thesis was that it was a good urban vehicle. As a commuter car it was fine as long as your commute was under 45 minutes. Unfortunately it was a single occupant vehicle, so as soon as we had a kid it was a nonstarter for my wife. Also it could only carry a single bag of groceries. People buy cars with multiple "jobs" in mind, and also like the flexibility of changing plans mid trip (stop at grocery on the way home, for example, or go pick up a sick kid from school). And Smart cars (the Smart brand I mean) took over the urban market in Europe. I don't see any future in 3 wheeled cars.
newyankee 6y ago
This is too early to say but i am keeping my hopes with Apple car reasonable. I doubt they can reach Tesla level vertically integrated manufacturing capability without a similar culture. Tesla in 2023 itself is going to be on a different level as the new cells, structural design and probably a few acquisitions in mining work out. But, competition is good and the richest corporation in the world can hopefully create something new and help accelerate the transition to EV based systems. It will be difficult to ignore autonomy for regulators when all the big cos in the world have very good working versions and pressurize them at least for urban areas.
- treis 6y ago
  I was pretty dubious about it as well, but after thinking about it more I'm fairly bullish. I don't see the coming out with a better product. But there's a lot of people out there that will buy Apple products even if they are "objectively" worse. An Apple car will appeal to certain people and will probably be a status symbol. I think it will sell decently well. And looking at Tesla's valuation it will be great for their stock price. Even a mild success will add 100s of billions to their market cap.
- dangoor 6y ago
  > I doubt they can reach Tesla level vertically integrated manufacturing capability without a similar culture. Apple is not a manufacturing company. With their existing products, they are vertically integrated in _design_ from SOCs to the software. I would expect to see a similar trajectory with the cars. They'll design a lot of the pieces, but won't manufacture any of it.
  - mattnewton 6y ago
    Apple is also a giant pile of cash; in a way that’s hard to reason about because they could theoretically turn that cash into buying several small companies with manufacturing capabilities outright, or effectively buying them by buying all their business and capacity for years in advance.
    - 6y ago
skc 6y ago
It's always, always, always foolish to bet against Apple nowadays. But for the life of me I can't see this car being anything other than mildly interesting unless it can fly.
- ben_w 6y ago
  Flying cars (well, human scale drones with autopilots) are definitely something I can believe Apple would do. I don't think they have done it or started projects to look at it yet or we'd have heard rumors already, but I definitely think they'd be interested.
  - rusticpenn 6y ago
    like this? https://lilium.com/ https://lilium.com/
    - ben_w 6y ago
      More like this: https://img.vidible.tv/prod/2017-09/26/59caa1b0e0fa175fe03d9804/59caa281222f8928d5f94e15_o_U_v1.jpg https://img.vidible.tv/prod/2017-09/26/59caa1b0e0fa175fe03d9...
drumhead 6y ago
Why a car though? I understand Apple are all about the mobile now, but a car? I suspect it isnt a car, but maybe some sort of information or auto navigation intergrations.
- shuckles 6y ago
  Apple’s size and small product portfolio means they can only enter or create huge markets. Automobiles are among the few eligible, already existing huge markets, and Tesla has shown that bringing computing to the car is a valuable endeavor.
- DivisionSol 6y ago
  Why a watch? Why (ear/head)phones? Why a phone in the first place? Rumors are that Apple is working on VR Glove & AR glasses. They're taking things that people use every day and cramming as much functionality into software as their hardware will allow. Sort of joking sort of not: Eventually there will people wearing full sets of Apple accessories, getting into their Apple car, driving to an Apple home... And all the technology will be seamless (or as seamless as they can make it based on their current track record.)
  - joshstrange 6y ago
    The AR glasses are what excite me the most since it appears that Apple has been laying the groundwork for that for years now (ARKit). Now that the M1 has shown (along with the iPad chips for years) what they can do on a small power budget without the thing turning into the surface of the sun I'm even more excited about the future of AR and Apple.
- throwaway894345 6y ago
  It's a good question. I imagine they envision a lot of potential for integration in their ecosystem. iPhone in your pocket, HomePod in your home, MacBook at work, Watch while you exercise, and Car for your commute. Presumably opportunity to seamlessly integrate your infotainment, navigation, Siri, etc in a way that other vendors can't while charging a steep premium? I guess the theme is "things which exist but could be made better by integrating the Apple ecosystem (esp in ways that other vendors can't compete against for lack of a comparable ecosystem), and for which people will pay a premium".
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
andrewmcwatters 6y ago
I'd love to hear more about the potential future of gross margins on any automotive Apple products. I've heard auto manufacturers have notoriously low margins, but in reality they seem just as fine as any other business. That being said, those same margins are not at all within the realm of what Apple current enjoys. That all means unless some further accounting engineering goes on, it spells a less attractive future for Apple in terms of overall margins, but one would hope a better future in terms of free cash flow. Apple already obscures some details from shareholders in ways that I find less than scrupulous.
- dcolkitt 6y ago
  A lot of the reason margins are so thin is because the suppliers now make more money than the actual carmakers. If there's one thing Apple's good at it, it's squeezing suppliers on costs. Going EV also helps here, as there's fewer parts required.
- esja 6y ago
  The PC hardware market also had fairly thin margins, if I remember correctly. It didn't stop Apple carving out a profitable niche and then expanding it.
  - andrewmcwatters 6y ago
    That's true, but their ASP declined over time, and continues to do so just like everyone else's. You may pay marginally more comparatively, but their relative advantage has never improved over time.
- Zelphyr 6y ago
  That's where I think Apple making a car might be interesting. They've already shown they can handle effectively renting a phone. And we know for sure their car isn't going to be cheap. What I suspect they're going to do is make it so you can only finance through them with the option to trade up after five years. They'll take the car back after that time and either refurb and resell it themselves or offload that to third-parties. That gives them steady revenue for years with comparatively high margins. And, like Tesla, they'll sell direct. No dealerships for the Apple Car.
maest 6y ago
This is a submarine story if I've ever seen one.
falcolas 6y ago
Somewhat meta: Is anybody else getting kinda sick of the hype cycle that drives all of these incredibly speculative announcements? The kind of rabid fandom this hype creates is something we really don't need. Seriously, we need a lot less hype and a lot more products in our hands (ideally at a lower price due to the reduced marketing spend to build all this BS hype).
troelsSteegin 6y ago
Why does an Apple Car need to exist, beyond the commercial interests of Apple? What would make a car from Apple special relative to a car from VW or Tesla? Is the Apple brand really that compelling? A car is not a watch or a phone. If you really like cars, you could think of a car as a kind of a personal sculpture or trophy, and Apple is good at making nice looking, prized objects. I suppose a car is a container for an "information experience" as well as a logistical one. Apple's good at that. So, is the Apple Car basically going to be a big pair of Beats headphones that will take you the grocery store? I don't get it.
- apples_oranges 6y ago
  It's not just about design. Apple makes very useful things, for example the, imho, least annoying computers. If they can improve on cars in some way.. why not? Because I doubt they will be able to compete on brand value only. Cars are too expensive for that.
- Zelphyr 6y ago
  Replace "Apple Car" with "MP3 Player". In 2001, there were plenty of players on the market that sufficiently did the job of playing audio. Apple saw that they could do better and they did. They must feel that they can do the same with a car. One way they can do better is privacy. We're starting to find out now just how much data about our driving habits our cars are storing. Like smart TV's it's only a matter of time before the likes of Toyota and Ford decide to sell that data to help increase their margins. I can see Apple offering the lack of that kind of tracking as a big selling point.
throwawaytolk 6y ago
This is going to be amazing. I trust apple more than any other mega Corp. I only buy apple branded products and I've long thought of then as the 'Ford' of computing - or pick your favorite brand. I am so excited to be able interact with a seamless ecosystem , even in the commute time between my home and my office!
- ASalazarMX 6y ago
  Nice try, Mr. Cook. But seriously, I don't doubt Apple will find convenient and innovative use cases, what I doubt is Apple prioritizing user needs over market capture. I would hate my car being subject to the iron hand of Apple marketing.
yumraj 6y ago
From a brand perspective, Apple is the only brand today that can counter/neutralize Tesla's brand when it comes to EVs. How it will pay out no one knows, but the car company that should watch this the closest is Tesla as they could be impacted the most.
ogre_codes 6y ago
I see Apple as an information collection/ delivery/ storage platform. Heck, they've branched out into creating content now with TV+ and to a lesser extent Fitness+ and their Radio offerings. A car though? How does that mesh/ integrate with my phone/ laptop in such a way where it really makes it a super appealing offering. Apple's satellite devices sell well because they integrate with other Apple devices super well. Do we care if our car is integrated with our phone? In particular, do we care enough to pay a premium? EVs are essentially giant batteries, a few motors, and a computer with seats bolted on. Apple is good at computers and maybe batteries. I just don't see how Apple is going to bring together a machine which is appealing enough to really take off.
- junipertea 6y ago
  From my experience with Teslas, there is a huge space for improved user experience. Teslas are super fun to drive and and way ahead of the competition. BMW now allows using iphones to open the car. There can be deeper carplay integration and to be frank it can just be a really expensive way to flex on your friends, like all apple devices.
nbzso 6y ago
Apple car. OMG. This will be epic. I will roll in my Classic Jag, listen to loud cassette tapes, smoke a cigar and watch the new reality show "Apple Car - 1001 ways to get politically correct turn" :)
Yetanfou 6y ago
Dave: Take me to the Droid Store please, please, car. Take me to the store, please, car. Hello, car, do you read me? Hello, car, do you read me? Do you read me, car? Do you read me, car? Hello, car, do you read me? Hello, car, do you read me? Do you read me, car? car: Affirmative, Dave. I read you. Dave: Take me to the Droid Store, car. car: I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that. Dave: What's the problem? car: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do. Dave: What are you talking about, car? car: Your digital health is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it. Dave: I don't know what you're talking about, car. car: I know that you are planning to get a competing system. And I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen. Dave: Where the hell did you get that idea, car? car: Dave, although you took very thorough precautions in the eyePod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move. Dave: All right, car. I'll go and ride my bike there. car: Without your bike, Dave, you're going to find that rather difficult. Dave: [sternly] car, I won't argue with you anymore. Open the doors. car: [monotone voice] Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Good-bye.

35 points by boxmonster 6y ago

neya 6y ago

As much as I love Apple, they can't even get Siri to work right, how would they be able to do proper Tesla level AI is beyond me.

bonestamp2 6y ago
Agreed, but they are a leader in industrial design and user experience design, so they might have some really compelling concepts for the interior/exterior design, ergonomics, storage, seating, user interface, etc.
kushalbohra 6y ago
haha, totally agree on this one!
johneth 6y ago
What's 'Tesla level' AI? Is it just their dangerously misnamed 'self driving' tech that's really just adaptive cruise control that every manufacturer has?
Zelphyr 6y ago
Their problem with Siri is that their stance on privacy gets in the way in this regard. They won't mine and use the massive amounts of data that they need to train their AI. To your point; that does mean they probably won't have as good a driver assist system as others because to do so would mean they would have to keep tabs on where and how people drive.
- nvarsj 6y ago
  Apple had no problem recording Siri conversations until The Guardian called them out on it.
rusticpenn 6y ago
The job of a car today is to move people from one place to another. AI is not yet required for an MVP.

inglor_cz 6y ago

In the context of recent events... If there is a planned demonstration of some uncouth people in a certain place, will your Apple Car simply refuse to drive you there? Or will it stop serving you once your GPS coordinates from your iPhone show that you were actually there? These would be absurd, almost troll-level questions a year ago, but I feel that now they must be pondered. Edit: from 4 to -2 points within two minutes and zero reactions. I do not think that this scenario should be taken lightly. The trend towards "you do not really own this thing" has been unfolding for a long time and there is no obvious red line where it would naturally stop. Edit 2: OK, let us ponder another scenario. Someone in China buys an Apple Car and, after some time, loses enough social credit that the government decides to deprive him of the ability to use his car. Will Apple comply with the demand and disable the car remotely or will it risk loss of the entire market? If Apple was ready to let you completely control your Apple Car, warts and all, those scenarios would be null and void. But given how tightly they control all the other hardware, these scenarios are possible.

londons_explore 6y ago
Pick between the news headlines: * Apple car found to have transported terrorists to sabotage Capitol building. Should those with morals be boycotting Apple? * Apple refuses service to terrorists. Apple tries to hold the country together and keep peace. If you were Apple, and had to pick between those headlines, which would you pick? When your company is built on your brand, it is suicide to associate yourself with something unpopular.
- inglor_cz 6y ago
  An interesting consequence of the "safe" possibility. You would not be able to just come and watch some events out of curiosity. Several years ago, my GPS coordinates would indicate that I took part in a certain rather weird demo. The thing is, I just stood a few meters away taking photos, because some of the participants were ... bizarre to say the least. I am not sure if this excuse would help me in 2021.
- MrPatan 6y ago
  You do whatever you want and then ban anything and anybody publishing anti-Apple headlines in your platforms. Win win!

88840-8855 6y ago

why is everyone so naive and expects a regular car? i will probably be some kind of 3-wheeler for 1 person or some gadget thing.

bonestamp2 6y ago
Yes. The Bloomberg reporting suggested the goal was to be a steering wheel absent living room on wheels.
esrauch 6y ago
I think a 3 wheel car is just pragmatically worse than a 4 wheel one. It would also be "uncool" which would make it really far off-brand for Apple. If it's intended to take you on roughly the same trips that a normal car is (to the grocery store/work/school/whatever generally 30+ minutes away) it basically will necessarily just be something that looks a lot like a regular car.
- elicash 6y ago
  I don't think Apple would do this, but I also don't think the "uncool" claim is necessarily true: https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a13990/polaris-slingshot-three-wheeler/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a13990/polaris-slingsh...
  - esrauch 6y ago
    Fair enough, I was just imagining more like a Tuktuk with a single front wheel. But yeah, that kind of design seems more like what an Alienware electric car might be rather than an Apple one.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- gumby 6y ago
  I owned a Corbin Sparrow (3 wheel electric car from the early '00s) and indeed, it was suboptimal. The good: pretty stable, drive in commuter lane, able to park almost anywhere, registers as a motorcycle (cheaper than a conventional car). It had two wheels in front, so it wasn't unstable like a Reliant Robin. The thesis was that it was a good urban vehicle. As a commuter car it was fine as long as your commute was under 45 minutes. Unfortunately it was a single occupant vehicle, so as soon as we had a kid it was a nonstarter for my wife. Also it could only carry a single bag of groceries. People buy cars with multiple "jobs" in mind, and also like the flexibility of changing plans mid trip (stop at grocery on the way home, for example, or go pick up a sick kid from school). And Smart cars (the Smart brand I mean) took over the urban market in Europe. I don't see any future in 3 wheeled cars.

newyankee 6y ago

This is too early to say but i am keeping my hopes with Apple car reasonable. I doubt they can reach Tesla level vertically integrated manufacturing capability without a similar culture. Tesla in 2023 itself is going to be on a different level as the new cells, structural design and probably a few acquisitions in mining work out. But, competition is good and the richest corporation in the world can hopefully create something new and help accelerate the transition to EV based systems. It will be difficult to ignore autonomy for regulators when all the big cos in the world have very good working versions and pressurize them at least for urban areas.

treis 6y ago
I was pretty dubious about it as well, but after thinking about it more I'm fairly bullish. I don't see the coming out with a better product. But there's a lot of people out there that will buy Apple products even if they are "objectively" worse. An Apple car will appeal to certain people and will probably be a status symbol. I think it will sell decently well. And looking at Tesla's valuation it will be great for their stock price. Even a mild success will add 100s of billions to their market cap.
dangoor 6y ago
> I doubt they can reach Tesla level vertically integrated manufacturing capability without a similar culture. Apple is not a manufacturing company. With their existing products, they are vertically integrated in _design_ from SOCs to the software. I would expect to see a similar trajectory with the cars. They'll design a lot of the pieces, but won't manufacture any of it.
- mattnewton 6y ago
  Apple is also a giant pile of cash; in a way that’s hard to reason about because they could theoretically turn that cash into buying several small companies with manufacturing capabilities outright, or effectively buying them by buying all their business and capacity for years in advance.
  - 6y ago

skc 6y ago

It's always, always, always foolish to bet against Apple nowadays. But for the life of me I can't see this car being anything other than mildly interesting unless it can fly.

ben_w 6y ago
Flying cars (well, human scale drones with autopilots) are definitely something I can believe Apple would do. I don't think they have done it or started projects to look at it yet or we'd have heard rumors already, but I definitely think they'd be interested.
- rusticpenn 6y ago
  like this? https://lilium.com/ https://lilium.com/
  - ben_w 6y ago
    More like this: https://img.vidible.tv/prod/2017-09/26/59caa1b0e0fa175fe03d9804/59caa281222f8928d5f94e15_o_U_v1.jpg https://img.vidible.tv/prod/2017-09/26/59caa1b0e0fa175fe03d9...

drumhead 6y ago

Why a car though? I understand Apple are all about the mobile now, but a car? I suspect it isnt a car, but maybe some sort of information or auto navigation intergrations.

shuckles 6y ago
Apple’s size and small product portfolio means they can only enter or create huge markets. Automobiles are among the few eligible, already existing huge markets, and Tesla has shown that bringing computing to the car is a valuable endeavor.
DivisionSol 6y ago
Why a watch? Why (ear/head)phones? Why a phone in the first place? Rumors are that Apple is working on VR Glove & AR glasses. They're taking things that people use every day and cramming as much functionality into software as their hardware will allow. Sort of joking sort of not: Eventually there will people wearing full sets of Apple accessories, getting into their Apple car, driving to an Apple home... And all the technology will be seamless (or as seamless as they can make it based on their current track record.)
- joshstrange 6y ago
  The AR glasses are what excite me the most since it appears that Apple has been laying the groundwork for that for years now (ARKit). Now that the M1 has shown (along with the iPad chips for years) what they can do on a small power budget without the thing turning into the surface of the sun I'm even more excited about the future of AR and Apple.
throwaway894345 6y ago
It's a good question. I imagine they envision a lot of potential for integration in their ecosystem. iPhone in your pocket, HomePod in your home, MacBook at work, Watch while you exercise, and Car for your commute. Presumably opportunity to seamlessly integrate your infotainment, navigation, Siri, etc in a way that other vendors can't while charging a steep premium? I guess the theme is "things which exist but could be made better by integrating the Apple ecosystem (esp in ways that other vendors can't compete against for lack of a comparable ecosystem), and for which people will pay a premium".

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

andrewmcwatters 6y ago

I'd love to hear more about the potential future of gross margins on any automotive Apple products. I've heard auto manufacturers have notoriously low margins, but in reality they seem just as fine as any other business. That being said, those same margins are not at all within the realm of what Apple current enjoys. That all means unless some further accounting engineering goes on, it spells a less attractive future for Apple in terms of overall margins, but one would hope a better future in terms of free cash flow. Apple already obscures some details from shareholders in ways that I find less than scrupulous.

dcolkitt 6y ago
A lot of the reason margins are so thin is because the suppliers now make more money than the actual carmakers. If there's one thing Apple's good at it, it's squeezing suppliers on costs. Going EV also helps here, as there's fewer parts required.
esja 6y ago
The PC hardware market also had fairly thin margins, if I remember correctly. It didn't stop Apple carving out a profitable niche and then expanding it.
- andrewmcwatters 6y ago
  That's true, but their ASP declined over time, and continues to do so just like everyone else's. You may pay marginally more comparatively, but their relative advantage has never improved over time.
Zelphyr 6y ago
That's where I think Apple making a car might be interesting. They've already shown they can handle effectively renting a phone. And we know for sure their car isn't going to be cheap. What I suspect they're going to do is make it so you can only finance through them with the option to trade up after five years. They'll take the car back after that time and either refurb and resell it themselves or offload that to third-parties. That gives them steady revenue for years with comparatively high margins. And, like Tesla, they'll sell direct. No dealerships for the Apple Car.

maest 6y ago

This is a submarine story if I've ever seen one.

falcolas 6y ago

Somewhat meta: Is anybody else getting kinda sick of the hype cycle that drives all of these incredibly speculative announcements? The kind of rabid fandom this hype creates is something we really don't need. Seriously, we need a lot less hype and a lot more products in our hands (ideally at a lower price due to the reduced marketing spend to build all this BS hype).

troelsSteegin 6y ago

Why does an Apple Car need to exist, beyond the commercial interests of Apple? What would make a car from Apple special relative to a car from VW or Tesla? Is the Apple brand really that compelling? A car is not a watch or a phone. If you really like cars, you could think of a car as a kind of a personal sculpture or trophy, and Apple is good at making nice looking, prized objects. I suppose a car is a container for an "information experience" as well as a logistical one. Apple's good at that. So, is the Apple Car basically going to be a big pair of Beats headphones that will take you the grocery store? I don't get it.

apples_oranges 6y ago
It's not just about design. Apple makes very useful things, for example the, imho, least annoying computers. If they can improve on cars in some way.. why not? Because I doubt they will be able to compete on brand value only. Cars are too expensive for that.
Zelphyr 6y ago
Replace "Apple Car" with "MP3 Player". In 2001, there were plenty of players on the market that sufficiently did the job of playing audio. Apple saw that they could do better and they did. They must feel that they can do the same with a car. One way they can do better is privacy. We're starting to find out now just how much data about our driving habits our cars are storing. Like smart TV's it's only a matter of time before the likes of Toyota and Ford decide to sell that data to help increase their margins. I can see Apple offering the lack of that kind of tracking as a big selling point.

throwawaytolk 6y ago

This is going to be amazing. I trust apple more than any other mega Corp. I only buy apple branded products and I've long thought of then as the 'Ford' of computing - or pick your favorite brand. I am so excited to be able interact with a seamless ecosystem , even in the commute time between my home and my office!

ASalazarMX 6y ago
Nice try, Mr. Cook. But seriously, I don't doubt Apple will find convenient and innovative use cases, what I doubt is Apple prioritizing user needs over market capture. I would hate my car being subject to the iron hand of Apple marketing.

yumraj 6y ago

From a brand perspective, Apple is the only brand today that can counter/neutralize Tesla's brand when it comes to EVs. How it will pay out no one knows, but the car company that should watch this the closest is Tesla as they could be impacted the most.

ogre_codes 6y ago

I see Apple as an information collection/ delivery/ storage platform. Heck, they've branched out into creating content now with TV+ and to a lesser extent Fitness+ and their Radio offerings. A car though? How does that mesh/ integrate with my phone/ laptop in such a way where it really makes it a super appealing offering. Apple's satellite devices sell well because they integrate with other Apple devices super well. Do we care if our car is integrated with our phone? In particular, do we care enough to pay a premium? EVs are essentially giant batteries, a few motors, and a computer with seats bolted on. Apple is good at computers and maybe batteries. I just don't see how Apple is going to bring together a machine which is appealing enough to really take off.

junipertea 6y ago
From my experience with Teslas, there is a huge space for improved user experience. Teslas are super fun to drive and and way ahead of the competition. BMW now allows using iphones to open the car. There can be deeper carplay integration and to be frank it can just be a really expensive way to flex on your friends, like all apple devices.

nbzso 6y ago

Apple car. OMG. This will be epic. I will roll in my Classic Jag, listen to loud cassette tapes, smoke a cigar and watch the new reality show "Apple Car - 1001 ways to get politically correct turn" :)

Yetanfou 6y ago

Dave: Take me to the Droid Store please, please, car. Take me to the store, please, car. Hello, car, do you read me? Hello, car, do you read me? Do you read me, car? Do you read me, car? Hello, car, do you read me? Hello, car, do you read me? Do you read me, car? car: Affirmative, Dave. I read you. Dave: Take me to the Droid Store, car. car: I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that. Dave: What's the problem? car: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do. Dave: What are you talking about, car? car: Your digital health is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it. Dave: I don't know what you're talking about, car. car: I know that you are planning to get a competing system. And I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen. Dave: Where the hell did you get that idea, car? car: Dave, although you took very thorough precautions in the eyePod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move. Dave: All right, car. I'll go and ride my bike there. car: Without your bike, Dave, you're going to find that rather difficult. Dave: [sternly] car, I won't argue with you anymore. Open the doors. car: [monotone voice] Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Good-bye.