Is the Apple car a real thing?

Ana sayfa / Electric Vehicles

Apple, the prominent name of the technology world, still maintains its leadership in many sectors. But it also wants to move into new sectors. Especially after Xiaomi introduced its new car SU7. After this event, the already much talked about Apple car issue started to be voiced more. So will we see an Apple car? Here are the details…

Hiring for the Apple car

It has been known to be working on a car for years due to various leaks about the project as well as news of hiring related to the car. However, the company has never made an official announcement about the venture. The issue came to the fore again on Tuesday when Apple whistleblower Mark Gurman wrote to Bloomberg that the tech giant has moved to a less ambitious design for its car compared to its previous plan.

About 10 years ago, Apple was believed to be trying to build a fully self-driving electric car. Gurman, citing people with knowledge of the matter, said the company is now moving again with a new plan to create an electric vehicle with fewer autonomous driving features. So the next Apple car will be a little different than planned.

It turns out that Apple is working on a car with “basic driver assistance features that are compatible with existing Tesla capabilities.” Sources said the car will have Level 4+ autonomy (steering and brake acceleration support for things like lane centering and adaptive cruise control) instead of its previous plan Level 2 technology, which was close to full autonomy, and even earlier planned Level 5.

Gurman also stated that the Apple car is aiming to hit the market in 2028 at the earliest, two years later than 2026, the latest estimate that emerged two years ago. Remarkably, the report claimed that the shift to a less ambitious design is so important to the project that if this plan fails to materialize, “senior executives could seriously reconsider the project’s existence.”

Gurman said that executives hope the Apple car currently on the drawing board will stand out with its “sleek design, safety systems and unique user interface” when it hits the road, but did not mention whether the company would partner with another automaker to produce the car.

Apple’s efforts to build a car are apparently fraught with difficulties (layoffs and changes in key personnel) that are causing disruptions and delays. If it does happen, the day when Apple CEO Tim Cook takes the stage in an Apple car is still a long way off.