Apple is recruiting automotive technology and vehicle design experts to work in a new "top-secret research lab," according to Financial Times. The report adds that a number of Apple designers working under design chief Jonathan Ive have also been regularly meeting with automotive executives and creators in recent months, and even trying to hire them in some cases.
A team of Apple employees, led by experienced managers from Apple's iPhone unit, are said to be researching automotive products at a secretive location outside of the Cupertino-based company's One Infinite Loop headquarters. The new research lab was allegedly set up late last year, shortly after the unveiling of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch.
Financial Times claims that Apple may be developing an advanced software platform that builds upon the CarPlay dashboard system, although its sources claim that the background of the individuals that the iPhone maker is hiring suggests that the company may also be in the early stages of working on a car to compete with the likes of Tesla and Google.
But people familiar with the company said that the background of the people Apple is hiring — including automotive designers and vehicle dynamics engineers — and the seniority of the executives involved suggest a car could be in the works.
“Three months ago I would have said it was CarPlay,” said one person who has worked closely with Apple for many years, referring to Apple’s infotainment system. “Today I think it’s a car.”
Last September, Apple hired former Mercedes-Benz R&D President and CEO Johann Jungwirth. He is listed as Director of Mac Systems Engineering at Apple, although he has a history of working on connected cars, autonomous driving, testing and regulatory affairs and more at Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler, where he had worked since October 1997. An increasing amount of speculation has surfaced in recent months about Apple working on a car after a mysterious van leased to the company was spotted in California and a subsequent report claimed that Apple is working on a project that "will give Tesla a run for its money." While the exact focus of Apple's automotive initiative remains unknown, it appears that the company is still in the early stages of research and development.
Saturday August 10, 2024 5:00 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series in the fall, and a possible September 10 announcement date has been floated this year, which means we are just one month away from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design...
Apple's M3 MacBook Pro is seeing multiple high value discounts on Best Buy and Amazon today, with up to $1,000 off select models. This includes a new all-time low price on the entry-level M3 512GB 14-inch MacBook Pro at $1,299.00, down from $1,599.00, and a massive $1,000 discount on the high-end 16-inch model exclusively for Best Buy members. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best...
Tuesday August 13, 2024 4:01 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Multiple rumors have suggested that the iPhone 16 models are going to have an all-new button that's designed to make it easier to capture photos when the devices are held in landscape mode. Apple calls the button the Capture Button internally, and it is going to be one of the most advanced buttons that's been introduced to date with support for multiple gestures and the ability to respond to ...
Apple is beta testing iOS 18 and the first update to iOS 18 concurrently, and we got the second betas of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 today alongside the sixth betas of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia 15. Many of the changes in iOS 18.1 are focused on bringing the .1 betas in line with the standard betas, which recently received updates to Photos and Safari, while...
Thursday August 8, 2024 4:40 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
Apple's rumored iPhone 17 "Slim" could be positioned as an iPhone "Air" to boost sales, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained how the "fourth" model in the iPhone lineup since 2020 (the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone 15 Plus) has largely been a commercial failure. In the case of the Plus model,...
Oh my... I hoped this was supposed to remain a joke
If Apple made cars: * Youd have to pay to keep the onboard software updated * Youd only be able to drive them on Apple-certified roads * The cupholder would only accept a proprietary Apple cup * There would only be one pedal * Thered be more work put into the dashboard than the safety features * You could have any color you want provided its brushed aluminium
How the heck do you keep "working on a car" secret? Just the sheer amount of space you need to do the work makes it hard. Then you need a whole new slate of guys who are completely unlike the engineers you normally hire. Certainly once you get to the point of having something approaching a protype, the cat will be out of the bag.
Or wait, now we know why the new office building is in a circle. It is actually a race track!
