Recently, Apple Auto said that it aims to launch an electric car in 2028 and plans to equip the car with "limited self-driving" features.
In 2014, Apple launched a project to develop an electric vehicle capable of self-driving. But the project has had its ups and downs over the past few years due to internal disputes and leadership issues. In 2016, the project was shelved due to difficulties in the development of driverless vehicles, and in 2022, plans for a fully driverless vehicle were thwarted.
Apple initially had ambitious plans for electric vehicles. However, due to the collapse of Toyota's cooperation with TSMC in vehicle development and self-driving chip development, which failed to secure the necessary partnership between the auto industry and Apple for the first time, Apple scaled back to "limited self-driving" features instead of full self-driving.
In this case, Apple continues to develop electric vehicles. Work is underway to launch an electric vehicle with a Level 2 autonomous driving system similar to Tesla's. The system still requires the driver to control the vehicle and provide constant supervision. Steering wheel and brake acceleration support, lane maintenance**, adaptive cruise control.
Judging from the content currently being developed, Apple says it has developed a high-end processor for the Apple Car. This is the most advanced Apple Car component that was developed as a neural processor that can perform AI data overload processing. In addition, radar sensors, radar, and cameras will be installed to improve driver support functions.
Due to the delay in the development of the Apple car over the years, Apple turned to a simple design in order to launch the car quickly. The initial design was designed to allow passengers to converse with each other face-to-face, with four seats facing each other. However, if the plan is changed due to limited autonomous driving functions, it is expected to be changed to a standard design for ordinary cars.
The infotainment system and center console are still estimated to be the core parts of the Apple car. Apple has also built a duplication and backup system to deal with failures in the self-driving system.
It is reported that the Apple car also adopts a "single-core" design, by removing the packaging and modules containing battery materials, a large number of individual battery cells are manufactured to ensure the space inside the battery pack. This is a new scheme that can radically reduce battery expenses and increase driving range.
It is very likely that the Apple Car will be sold not as an affordable electric car, but as a premium vehicle. The target** is less than 100,000 US dollars (about 700,000 yuan). Apple, which is first forayed into the automotive industry, has experienced a lot of difficulties and has been delaying its launch. Despite this announcement, it is still unknown whether the Apple car will actually be seen in 2028.