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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 int

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".
Zelphyr 6y ago
I have a Prius and I'm one of the apparent few Prius owners that hate it. Not because of the mileage--I've heard that the Prius hybrid engine is some top-notch engineering. No, I hate my Prius because there are so many little things that make it obnoxious to use. When I first bought it, after a day I took it back to the dealership and told them to either disable to "beep" that it did when in reverse or take the car back. They disabled the beep but, speaking of beeps; my god the beeping! It has a nice feature that when I get out of the car all I need do to lock it is touch the handle and it'll lock all the doors. Except if one door is still open and then it will play a constant beep for about 10 seconds which is, simply put, infuriating. Doesn't help that my son takes forever to get out of a car for some reason. Almost every button on the console is backlit, as one would expect, except for the gear shifter. No, in order to light that, they put a light on the ceiling of the car that shines down on the shifter so you can see it at night. Why? Why not backlight the shifter like all the buttons around it? It's for these and many, many other reasons I'm looking forward to an Apple Car. Apple's attention to detail. That's not to say Apple is perfect in this regard (I'm thinking of the Podcasts app, as one example) But it's clear that Toyota along with the other old-guard auto manufacturers have somehow gotten lazy or can't get out of their own way. It's nice to see fresh ideas come out of the likes of Tesla (manufacturing quality notwithstanding) and I'm looking forward to seeing what Apple comes up with. I'm not, however, looking forward to that inevitable giant price tag.
treis 6y ago
Because the 5th most valuable company today in America is a car company. Even if Apple Car can be 10% of Tesla that's worth 80 billion dollars.
fossuser 6y ago
Cars are in the process of transitioning to consumer electronics software devices. That’s a good fit for Apple and the others in this space (except for tesla) have no ability to execute on software (or even EVs really). The old car companies are dumb and slow and their industrial design mostly sucks. [0] I think it makes sense, particularly if you model the future as autonomous vehicles and AR as the next platform. People will be in their cars using their Apple devices and doing other things while in transit. The car will be a lot different than today in that future and Apple wants to be part of that design. This is a massive winner take all (or possibly duopoly) market in a way similar to phone platforms. [edit] In the US the dealership model hamstrings legacy car manufacturers from making important changes. These dealerships have legislated their existence and block things like OTA updates. They're staffed largely by people who dislike EVs and don't really understand the product. This is another big problem for any legacy manufacturer trying to make a big shift. [0]: For an example of dumbness, GM bought Cruise (smart) and then relegated them to a single product at the edge of their line (dumb). They don't realize what they have or the existential threat they face. I don't hold out hope for any of them.
rusticpenn 6y ago
Apple already tried that with BMW apparently. BMW went along with it until Apple wanted to use Apple branding instead of BMW. That ended the contract. I guess Apple has to find a Car manufacturer who wants to turn into a supplier for apple instead.
- fakedang 6y ago
  Or they could acquire one of the traditional players. Ford, GM, even VW or BMW if the EU lets them.

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".

Zelphyr 6y ago

I have a Prius and I'm one of the apparent few Prius owners that hate it. Not because of the mileage--I've heard that the Prius hybrid engine is some top-notch engineering. No, I hate my Prius because there are so many little things that make it obnoxious to use. When I first bought it, after a day I took it back to the dealership and told them to either disable to "beep" that it did when in reverse or take the car back. They disabled the beep but, speaking of beeps; my god the beeping! It has a nice feature that when I get out of the car all I need do to lock it is touch the handle and it'll lock all the doors. Except if one door is still open and then it will play a constant beep for about 10 seconds which is, simply put, infuriating. Doesn't help that my son takes forever to get out of a car for some reason. Almost every button on the console is backlit, as one would expect, except for the gear shifter. No, in order to light that, they put a light on the ceiling of the car that shines down on the shifter so you can see it at night. Why? Why not backlight the shifter like all the buttons around it? It's for these and many, many other reasons I'm looking forward to an Apple Car. Apple's attention to detail. That's not to say Apple is perfect in this regard (I'm thinking of the Podcasts app, as one example) But it's clear that Toyota along with the other old-guard auto manufacturers have somehow gotten lazy or can't get out of their own way. It's nice to see fresh ideas come out of the likes of Tesla (manufacturing quality notwithstanding) and I'm looking forward to seeing what Apple comes up with. I'm not, however, looking forward to that inevitable giant price tag.

treis 6y ago

Because the 5th most valuable company today in America is a car company. Even if Apple Car can be 10% of Tesla that's worth 80 billion dollars.

fossuser 6y ago

Cars are in the process of transitioning to consumer electronics software devices. That’s a good fit for Apple and the others in this space (except for tesla) have no ability to execute on software (or even EVs really). The old car companies are dumb and slow and their industrial design mostly sucks. [0] I think it makes sense, particularly if you model the future as autonomous vehicles and AR as the next platform. People will be in their cars using their Apple devices and doing other things while in transit. The car will be a lot different than today in that future and Apple wants to be part of that design. This is a massive winner take all (or possibly duopoly) market in a way similar to phone platforms. [edit] In the US the dealership model hamstrings legacy car manufacturers from making important changes. These dealerships have legislated their existence and block things like OTA updates. They're staffed largely by people who dislike EVs and don't really understand the product. This is another big problem for any legacy manufacturer trying to make a big shift. [0]: For an example of dumbness, GM bought Cruise (smart) and then relegated them to a single product at the edge of their line (dumb). They don't realize what they have or the existential threat they face. I don't hold out hope for any of them.

rusticpenn 6y ago

Apple already tried that with BMW apparently. BMW went along with it until Apple wanted to use Apple branding instead of BMW. That ended the contract. I guess Apple has to find a Car manufacturer who wants to turn into a supplier for apple instead.

fakedang 6y ago
Or they could acquire one of the traditional players. Ford, GM, even VW or BMW if the EU lets them.