Will there be an Apple Car in the future?
The Apple Car isn't brand new news when it comes to Apple fans. It started back in 2014, we thought we had a release date in sight but now... we're not too sure we ever will. Throughout the last decade, there has been lots of anticipation over when the Car release date would be, but this hasn’t been caused by Apple. It seems the public are far more interested in setting an official release date with their estimations changing constantly.
So let’s remind ourselves of the timeline of this technology, starting from when it was first announced up to the current day. There's a lot to get through, so let’s begin!
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When did the Apple Car project start?
Only 7 years after the world got the first glimpse of the iPhone, Apple was already deciding on how to take it's tech to the next level and outshine the competition. They wanted to be bigger, better and fuse tech and automotive. 2014 was the earliest mention fans got to a new secret project called Project Titan, which was later revealed to be the brand's automotive project where they were talking of building their vehicle.
2015:
So now Project Titan had been set, Apple needed a base location to start developing their vehicle. There were rumours that they were working on an Apple self-driving car in a secret office and building in California, this was where most of the development would take place.
Production began to be set into motion; it was reported hundreds of employees were hired to work on this secret project. And something huge… minivans were spotted in California (confirmed to be owned by Apple) along with big cameras and sensors stuck to them, which at the time the public assumed was for updating Google Maps and Google Earth. Now, however, with so much news around the Apple Car, it became a possibility that this was research for self-driving vehicle data.
2016:
Whilst things were going so well with the Apple tech development, 2016 saw a big setback in the development. The project lead Steve Zadesky informed colleagues he was leaving the company, due to this news Apple put a freeze on Project Titan as they felt the product was at a crossroads. No one knew how long the project would be on halt so started questioning what happened to the Apple Car project. For the next few years, people assumed the project had been scraped as no further updates had been made.
2017:
There was a lot of speculation in 2017 despite the fact the public assumed the Car was no more. For example, a self-driving lab was set up and a self-driving test was put into further action. There was also a secret battery testing project being worked on at the side to find the perfect smart car battery charger and battery. It was made clear although Project Titan was currently on a hiatus, it wasn’t being permanently scrapped.
2018:
2017 was also a big year for the iPhone for Apple, and it became clear the success of the iPhone X had caused a huge jump in the world of tech. Which to fans would suggest that Apple was also ready to jump further and bring back their most infamous project. And news about Project Titan came back into the public eye, but not in the positive way it was expected.
Why isn't Apple Car working?
In 2018, the inevitable first self-driving accident was caused by the secret Apple Car. It happened whilst merging on an expressway where another car got involved. Both vehicles were left with moderate damage, but this didn’t stop Apple. The accident brought back rumours that the Apple Car production was back on and so, this started the never-ending debate with the public over when the Car would be released.
Fans decided that we could be seeing the Apple Car release within the next 5 years, definitely before 2023 ended.
2020:
With the pandemic slowing down the production process, there were no major updates to the Apple Car until 2020. In 2019, developments and testing were still in progress, but nothing extreme was ever announced. The production was made known to the public again that the Apple Car was back! Partnership chips were tested and the investigation into electric vehicles began.
It was decided that since the pandemic had affected development plans for a year, the new release date would possibly be a year later in 2024.
2021:
In 2021, negotiations with potential manufacturers to put the Apple Car prototype were put into motion. The most promising partner seemed to be Hyundai electric cars. Along with this, the original project manager Benjamin Lyon left Apple and Project Titan and minor collisions occurred when the automotive was tested on roads.
Apple fans decided that since the movement of the vehicle was moving along rapidly, there was a chance we could see the Apple Car on our roads a lot quicker than expected. And so the release date of 2022 was decided.
2022:
When January 2022 hit and it became clear the Apple Car was nowhere near ready, fans decided the release date would need to be pushed back to 2025. The company stayed silent on the development of the car, and we heard very little news for a couple of years.
2024:
It was announced in 2024 that production of the Apple Car is still in the works. And a date, not decided by fans, was mentioned for a 2028 release. Design specs and ideas were put forward giving fans a better understanding of what we could see when it comes to the layout of this car.
Current day:
It has been confirmed in February 2024 that the Apple Car will be pulled from production after being on the cards for 10 years. This is due to the advance of AI projects with Apple wanting to further their improvements on this new type of tech for their upcoming projects. It has now been confirmed the Apple Car will no longer go ahead.
Related blog: New Apple Product Releases For 2024
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Conclusion:
Are you upset over the disappointing news that the project is no longer in the works? We'd love to have seen how this tech would have looked but cannot wait for Apple's future AI creations! If you had the opportunity would you ever drive in an Apple car? Or would you prefer to stick to the classic vehicles? We still have many smaller Apple products available on our website, like a refurbished apple watch and a refurbished iPad, so quickly take a look now!