We haven’t heard the Apple Car rumors for some time. You might think it’s because Apple’s plans are moving slowly, but the truth is it looks like It is thanks to the care that Apple brings to its travels. Even with all that is known, it was rumored that Apple was in talks with a Japanese automaker over some details of the future car.
A rather elusive project, but one that advances inexorably
We think we know a lot about the future Apple Car, but the truth is, if you take into consideration the massive (even titanic, if I may say so) project, we know very little. Patents can give us some ideas, maybe enough to create a model of what we think the car could be, but from experience we know that patents go a long way.
What was not known, until now, is that Apple met a Japanese automaker, Sanden, in January 2020. A meeting which Nikkei Asia said was intended to discuss the specific design of some components, including so-called air conditioning. of the vehicle. With the health situation, Sanden had to request a debt restructuring in June 2020, so the conversations didn’t go much further
Although the conversations did not materialize, we can draw several interesting conclusions from this information. The first, as we have already said, is the care that Apple takes in its dealings with the Apple Car: it took us two years to discover this meeting with a manufacturer. The second is that, as far as we know, the conversation revolved around fairly advanced stages of conception
All in all, it looks like Apple is continuing at full speed with its plans for the Apple Car, with some rumors placing the car in the first half of this decade, that is, the next two years. . Other sources place it in the next five or seven years, but all agree that the Apple Car will mark a before and after in the automotive industry.