• Apple's car project has once again been delayed, according to a new report.
The shift to electric mobility has brought new players to the automotive sector in recent years. Perhaps most notably, Sony and Apple have been associated with plans to produce a car. While the former seems to be making strides with its partner Honda, it appears the latter is spinning its wheels.
The tech giant first floated the idea of producing a self-driving electric car in 2014. A decade later, we're still waiting for a concept to arrive.
Bloomberg has reported that the car's debut has been pushed back to 2028.. Fingers for explaining the delays have been pointed at the pandemic, but that seems increasingly like a stale excuse. especially when it comes to this project, which just doesn't seem to be moving forward very quickly.
A few years back, Reuters reported that Apple was targeting 2024 for the start of production. Then came new reports of a 2026 target. Now even that appears out of reach.
Bloomberg quotes anonymous sources in the know about the project, who claim that the vehicle's autonomous-driving capabilities will now be much more limited than previously planned. Initially, Apple hoped to launch a car using a fully autonomous Level 5 system, but this was eventually revised to Level 4. That allows autonomous driving on certain authorized highways, but driver intervention is required elsewhere.
The company's initial plans called for autonomous cabs without a traditional driver's cab. With Level 4, that was no longer possible.
Current speculation is that Apple's car will now initially be limited to a slightly improved Level 2 self-driving capability – which essentially is what the majority of vehicles offering autonomous-drive systems currently offer. The intention is to eventually attain Level 4.
Bloomberg also reports that Apple wants its car to use the Tesla formula, with “elegant design, safety systems and a unique user interface.”
That sounds fine but it’s without meaning until the company can actually build a car to give those qualities to. There's increasingly sense of a lot of wishful thinking going, but not much that’s concrete.
Some are beginning to doubt the project. Are you?