If you have followed us for a while, you probably read an article not long ago, explaining how Apple’s M1 chip compares to Intel’s chip, and the impact it would bring to the entire computer chip industry. Now Apple has been revealed to be entering the electric car industry, and this time the rival they will be facing is Elon Musk’s Tesla.
According to Economic Daily, Taiwan, China, Apple’s first electric car, the Apple Car, will be released in September 2021. However, it will take more time for the Apple Car to be officially mass-produced. According to Reuters, Apple will start producing them in 2024 and with their own self-driving systems and breakthrough battery technology.
Actually, the story about Apple developing a car could date back to 2014. And in the past few years, it would also appear in the news from time to time, but each time there was no substantial progress, except for the CarPlay, which is already quite mature, and the iPhone models equipped with U1 chips that can be transformed into car keys.
“Electric cars are also the same as cell phones are electronic products, only bigger.” Apple CEO Tim Cook has said. Apple intends to lead a new transportation revolution, hoping to replicate the story of Apple leading the cell phone revolution in the automotive sector.
The Apple car project, also known as the ” Titan Project”, was once abandoned by Apple to focus on the development of self-driving software, until Doug Field, an Apple veteran who had also worked at Tesla, returned to Apple at the end of 2018 and laid off 190 team members. The “Titan Project” was restarted again. Since then, Apple has always been secretive about the progress of car manufacturing, and outsiders originally expected that Apple would not release the Apple Car until at least 2023.
MacRumors, an American technology blog, believes that Apple’s 2021 Apple Car release may not be a real release as fans have hoped, considering that automakers often promote their new models years in advance.
In fact, Apple’s car project has already begun to shrink its front lines, perhaps shifting its focus from initial hardware to software and technology, and is concentrating on developing self-driving systems and battery technology. What’s more, Apple reportedly relies on a third party to provide certain components of its self-driving technology, including LIDAR (radar) systems. This is not an unprecedented move, as Apple acquired self-driving startup Drive.ai last June.
All the news suggests that Apple’s car-making may be for real. Although Apple is a latecomer in this field, with its strong brand appeal, it is not impossible for Apple to make some differences in this industry. However, whether it can pose a threat to Tesla remains a mystery until its first big entrance.
