Release date for Apple iCar:

The not-so-evolving automotive market was turned upside down after the announcement of restrictions on the sale of new combustion engine cars from 2030 onwards.

The safe bet is extended-range EV’s, and solid-state batteries, but there are also proposals for autonomous vehicles that will be great mobile meeting halls on public roads.

And Apple wants to bet heavily on the last proposal. A vehicle without human control, but with the comforts of a real technological room.

This project, not yet made public, is kept hidden in the mist to be revealed in 2025 according to the Apple brand. Will they be able to achieve it? Do you know how long they have been announcing the Apple iCar for? Well, stay until the end of the video to find out.

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The Story until Now

This journey begins the moment Apple CEO Tim Cook approves the proposal for an autonomous vehicle project and begins massive recruitment of automotive people.

Early on, Cook sent out ambiguous messages like: “it looks like there will be a major shift in the automotive industry”.

One of the first to get the real message was Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who claimed to be certain that Apple was working on an EV.

These rumours were put on hold for a year, only to be picked up again in 2017, when it was found that the Californian authorities had given Apple permission to test autonomous vehicles. Later that year, Tim Cook confirmed the company’s worst-kept secret.

After another season of no news about the project, in 2021 Korean press reports emerged about the construction of production lines for Apple’s vehicle that would include Hyundai and Toyota as support for mass production.

Hyundai and Toyota as support… Quite a powerful team, right?

Ideas behind the concept car

The idea behind Project Titan – the codename for the autonomous vehicle – is basically an EV capable of transporting people with no need for the user to have physical control over the vehicle.

It is presumed to have the help of technologies from the companies supporting Apple in this project but will use all of Apple’s existing patents for the final product.

The big challenge of Project Titan is the brain of the car, the central processor that will be in charge of performing the artificial intelligence to control the vehicle’s speed, passive and active safety, sustaining the habitability systems, among others.

And if you’re wondering, are there stats on the range, battery, performance, and so on? Well, the answer is simple: No

Trivia

Before I go on, I want to make a quick pitstop to ask if you know the partnerships that Apple tried to establish with several companies in order to make the autonomous vehicle project a reality. Are you familiar with them? Stay until the end of the video if you want to find out.

Anyway, to help you a little, I’ll give you a couple of clues. One of the companies with which Apple tried to make several deals failed emissions tests on some of its models.

Do you know who I’m talking about? Leave your answer in the comments below. But hey!. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the channel and like the video if you liked it.

Let’s get going!

Interior design ideas

The interior design, not yet revealed to the public and probably still on the drawing board, is presumed to be a meeting room with a large iPad in the centre acting as a central console and infotainment hub.

Several sources say Apple is taking inspiration from Canoo Inc’s vehicles, with U-shaped, ergonomic seating and all the comforts of a mid-range ride.

But the most striking feature will be the absence of classic elements such as pedals and a steering wheel. Will this be a road safety hazard?

Apple will have a lot of explaining to do, but an emergency system to take control of the car is in the plans once the production model is released.

Will it be available by 2025?

The big question: will Project Titan make it in 2025? There are currently many developments in the technology world that put the viability of this project at risk.

First of all, there is a crisis in the stock of electrical components essential for the assembly of electronic systems. Also, most of Apple’s chip manufacturing, and the rest of the world, is located in Asia, and after the 2020 health crisis, chip production has yet to keep up with demand for these components.

And without a brain, there is no autonomous vehicle. Apple is no stranger to this situation, and they seem to be showing confidence in seeing Project Titan realised by the promised year.

Tell me what you think. Can they really make it? Miracles in the world of motorsport do exist.

Closing

At the time of publication of this video, there are still 4 years to go, and we only have rumours and renders created by Apple fans.

Before we go, let’s answer a couple of questions that were left open throughout the video.

In case you didn’t know, rumours of Apple’s incursion into this project began in the winter of 2014, and for 7 long years, it has tried to forge relationships with Volkswagen, Nvidia, and engineers from the world of artificial intelligence and motorsport to bring Project Titan to the public.