It is likely that the rumor that Apple is working on what would be its iCar or connected electric car is one of the most talked about in recent years. Countless pages and articles have been written about the leaks regarding this project.
Apple has been seen testing autonomous vehicles on the roads of the United States. The most recent for the company was the purchase of a test track in Arizona and the hiring of thousands of developers for Project Titan.
Among them are top auto industry experts like Tesla’s Doug Field or Porsche’s Dr Manfred Harrer. Based on this information, could Apple soon launch a car competing with the Tesla? Maybe not and we explain why.
Apple has invested billions in its “mobility project or Apple iCar“To the point where Apple is supposed to have a finished prototype car in a secret garage that is tested by company engineers.
However, developing a vehicle is only the first step. Investing in production and setting up a marketing system with suppliers would be much more expensive, all with the aim of producing a profitable product.
Time and time again, we’ve seen Tesla’s Elon Musk describe the process as “production hell.” These reasons lead us to think that Apple’s Project Titan might be something totally different than what everyone else thinks it would be.
Software won’t be the only target
One of the most famous podcasters who talks about Apple technology is John Gruber, who in his latest podcast with Jim Dalrymple wonders where Apple’s business idea lies. In reality, there are only two possibilities: an autonomous vehicle or the construction and registration of a vehicle platform.
Apple’s goal may be none other than trying to develop the Software for future autonomous vehicles, that is, a kind of carOS. This will then be awarded to automotive groups such as Toyota or VW, which often have little success in implementing the Software.
But Gruber is rightly surprised whether Apple really wants to be just the supplier of Software. It has never been Apple’s best business model; in fact, Apple has had bad experiences with operating system licensing.
For example, Mac OS was sold to so-called clone computer makers starting in 1994 and became one of Apple’s biggest failures, leading to its rapid shutdown in 1997.
Until now, Apple’s strength has always been to offer Software Yes Equipment from a single source, in a way that allows users to deliver a well-finished end product without reliance on third parties.
The second alternative being considered is that Apple could build its own vehicles, but at a high price with high production costs. The car of the future might be an autonomous control vehicle that is no longer yours, but you are using it as a sort of robot taxi.
It also doesn’t seem like a company Apple wants to be in. The strength of the Cupertino company has always been in developing products that people want to own, or at least aspire to.
Even more important is the risk of product liability in what today we call autonomous driving. Gruber thinks Apple would most likely end up with a myriad of lawsuits for any little problem.
What makes us think that Titan would be a domestic robot?
As a result, Gruber isn’t sure what Apple would bring to market. Instead of a car, we could see something for the domestic sector, perhaps in relation to augmented reality or virtual reality.
With home products, the risks to Apple would also be significantly lower, assuming Apple’s robots aren’t trying to take over the world, as we’ve seen in many sci-fi movies.
As Gruber thinks, we don’t know what Apple has up its sleeve (or in its garage), but the focus of the project may have changed a few times. Times are changing and Apple is changing with them.
Additionally, with the creation of new companies, such as Rivian and Aurora, competing in the same market for the same customers, Apple may be less interested in entering the competitive automotive business.
Who knows if home automation would be a more profitable area for Apple, an area that many other big tech makers continue to explore, with the creation of home robots. One of the last to make an appearance was the Amazon Astro model.
This original article was published in Macwelt, IDG publication.
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