What you need to know
- A new Motor Trend report imagines what an Apple Car could offer.
- It's thought that Apple Car will be fully autonomous.
- The report suggests people could pay a subscription to use a fleet of cars.
Apple Car could still be years away but that isn't stopping Motor Trend from imagining the kind of features we could all be using when (if) it finally ships.
Talk of an Apple Car has been rife for years and Apple undoubtedly has what it calls Project Titan going on somewhere. But despite stories that the project keeps losing talent and managers, the company seems determined to plow on. That means we could one day be driving around in Apple Cars of our own, but what could that actually mean?
According to Motor Trend, that could mean driving one of a fleet of Apple Cars that are all connected, allowing them to communicate with each other to ensure they always have up-to-date information about their surroundings. That'll come in handy — because these cars drive themselves.
An array of vehicle-mounted cameras and lidar sensors work with Apple's Maps app, which includes high-precision mapping of specific metropolitan areas, to help Apple's fleet of cars safely react to unforeseen obstacles, such as pedestrians and road debris. Additional peace of mind comes courtesy of the Apple Cars' vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication systems, which allow the autonomous cars to wirelessly "communicate" with one another and the surrounding infrastructure. Energy-dense battery packs afford many hours of continuous operation.
The report suggests that while some people might lease their own car, most will "subscribe to the service that allows them to use the company's fleet of shared autonomous vehicles." Apple will also allow ad-hoc hires like a taxi, Motor Trend posits.
The same report also suggests that Apple could "replace the native infotainment systems now used by automakers" by selling them a new system based on CarPlay. Apple has already worked on the IronHeart project that would allow CarPlay to hook into in-car systems including air conditioning and instrument panels.
The full Motor Trend piece is worth a read if you're interested in how Apple Car could come together. There is also some pretty gorgeous artwork to enjoy, too.
