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Apple's interest in a car dates back to before the original iPhone, and executives at the company discussed building a car before the iPhone was released. Steve Jobs considered developing an Apple car, and even met with the manufacturer of the lightweight, low-cost "V-Vehicle" in 2010, but he decided against it in 2008, pruh·furring to focus on the development of the iPhone. With the iPhone firmly established as Apple's most profitable device, the company has shifted its focus to other areas of research and development, once again kuhn·si·dr·uhng the possibility of a car-related project. What We Know. Apple began working on "Project Titan" in 2014, with up to a 1,000 car experts and engineers developing an electric vehicle in a secret location near the company's Cupertino headquarters. Internal strife, leadership issues, and other issues have impacted the car project over the last several years, and 2016 roo·mrz even suggested Apple shelved plans for a car, but the most recent information indicates that Apple has overcome development problems and still plans to develop a self driving car. The Apple Car project has seen multiple leadership changes and hundreds of layoffs during its development, but it is now led by John Giannandrea, Apple's AI and machine learning chief, who took over from Bob Mansfield after Mansfield retired in 2020. It was confirmed in december 2020 that Apple is still working on a full car and currently plans to release a vehicle in three to six years. According to Reuters, Apple is aiming for 2024, but Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes a car won't be available until 2025 to 2027 at the earliest. Apple will produce the vehicles in collaboration with a manufacturing partner, and the company is developing "next level" battery technology to increase range and efficiency. Apple has held discussions with Hyundai and other automobile manufacturers, and there were rumors that Apple and Hyundai would reach an agreement by March with a goal of starting production in 2024, but Apple may need to wait longer to find a suitable manufacturing partner. Apple's car team is said to be working on a self-driving vehicle that would allow a user to enter their destination and be driven there with "little or no other engagement." Ming-Chi Kuo, an Apple analyst, believes the car will be the company's "next star product," with Apple able to offer "better integration of hardware, software, and services" than potential competitors in the automotive market, thanks to Apple-designed chips manufactured by TSMC. According to an E-ETimes analyst, the chip could be called the "C1" and could be based on the A12 Bionic processor. According to Kuo, Apple's first vehicle chassis may be based on Hyundai's E-GMP electric vehicle (BEV) platform. The Apple Car will almost certainly be marketed as a "very high-end" or "significantly higher" model than a standard electric vehicle. Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke publicly about Apple's work on autonomous driving software in June of 2017, confirming the company's work in a rare candid moment. Apple doesn't often share details about what it's working on, but regulations make it more difficult to keep quiet about car software. "We're focused on self-driving cars. It's a critical piece of technology in our opinion. We consider it to be the mother of all AI projects. It's most likely one of the most difficult AI projects to work on." — Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, on the company's plans for the automotive industry. Apple has been testing self-driving vehicles on public roads in California since early 2017, using several 2015 Lexus RX450h SUVs leased from Hertz. The SUVs have been spotted on Cupertino streets with a slew of sensors and cameras as Apple works on self-driving software, and testing has ramped up over the years. Apple has held discussions with four suppliers of LiDAR sensors that are smaller, less expensive, and easier to mass produce than current LiDAR systems, which are too bulky and expensive for use in mass-produced vehicles. Apple is aiming for a "revolutionary design" that could be used in a future self-driving vehicle. Apple has several teams working on various aspects of the upcoming autonomous driving software. In Canada, a team of two dozen former BlackBerry QNX customers is assisting in the development of the base operating while another team creates the software that will run on it, such as a heads-up display and self-driving capabilities. Apple is also developing a self-driving shuttle service known as "PAIL," which stands for "Palo Alto to Infinite Loop." The shuttle service will transport employees between Apple's Silicon Valley headquarters. Apple is collaborating with Volkswagen and will install self-driving software in Volkswagen T6 Transporter vans that will serve as employee shuttles. We'll likely hear a lot more about the project in the coming years, as Apple will need to strike deals with a whole new set of supply chain partners in order to manufacture a vehicle. An Apple Branded Car. There has been a lot of back and forth on the Apple Car project over the last few years. Early rumors suggested that Apple would build a complete car, but due to leadership issues, development issues, and internal strife, the project was scaled back and would instead focus on self-driving technology. In 2019 and 2020, we started hearing new rumors that the project had shifted again and Apple was still pursuing an Apple-branded vehicle, and then multiple rumors in late 2020 confirmed that Apple is still working on a full Apple-branded car aimed at consumers, with plans for a partnership with an existing vehicle manufacturer. Apple is also working on a new battery design that has the potential to "radically" reduce battery costs while increasing vehicle range. Apple is developing a "monocell" design that will increase the size of individual battery cells while freeing up space inside the battery pack by removing pouches and modules that hold battery materials. This will allow for more active material to be contained in a smaller package. The battery technology has been compared to "the first time you saw the iPhone" and described as "next level." According to CNBC, the first Apple car will be designed to run without a driver. The vehicles will be fully autonomous, according to CNBC, and the first Apple Cars could be designed for food delivery services and firms that use robotaxis. As it prepares to begin work on the Apple Car, Apple is in discussions with manufacturing partners and component suppliers. Possible Partnerships. Multiple rumors have surfaced in early 2021 claiming that Apple has entered into negotiations with well-known automotive electronics suppliers for components for a potential upcoming vehicle-related product, and Apple is also said to be working to establish a factory in the United States. Apple was rumored to be planning a partnership with Hyundai for the production of the Apple Car, with plans to transition the Apple Car development to its Kia brand as part of an agreement that could see production take place in the United States. Sensor Suppliers. Apple is in talks with several LiDAR sensor manufacturers in order to find a sensor supplier. Apple is looking for sensors that will be "cutting edge" four to five years from now. The Apple Car's LiDAR sensors are intended to detect and map its surroundings. Apple is testing LiDAR setups in Lexus SUV vehicles that are being driven on California streets. Apple has created the majority of the software, processing hardware, and AI algorithms required for an autonomous vehicle, but it still requires sensor hardware. How much will Apple's car cost? Of course, with little to no information on whether the Apple Car will be a vehicle, a software or a service, it's almost impossible to predict how much it'll cost. That being said, we can compare the prices of other high-end EVs (by which we mean Teslas, basically) on the market right now to get a ball-park understanding of what to expect from an Apple Car. When it goes on sale, the new Tesla Roadster is expected to be the most expensive Tesla available to buy, with an estimated purchase price of around $200,000, the Model X Performance is the most expensive Tesla on the market, with a purchase price of $99,990. Although no fully-autonomous vehicles are available to buy as yet, Tesla drivers are currently having to fork out $10,000 to add the FSD mode to Autopilot, the Tesla advanced driving system. What this all means for the Apple Car is… unclear. We don't know if it'll be targeted at everyday consumers or marketed as a high-end, high-performance road vehicle, so it's difficult to make any assumptions based on competitor prices. In any case, it's worth remembering that Apple is Apple. Whatever form the Apple Car arrives in, it's likely to be expensive. For apple the future is clear, what do you think about apple creating self driving cars?