© Unsplash/Giorgio Trovato
Apple would have fired nearly six hundred employees, officiating within its secret department aimed at creating an electric and driverless car. An announcement which comes when the project would have simply been canceled, after having cost the American manufacturer nearly ten billion dollars.
When the announcement of the abandonment of the program was shared, rumors in the corridors suggested that the majority of employees associated with it would be transferred to the artificial intelligence branch of the apple firm. But Apple will not have succeeded in migrating all of its teams in this way, perhaps preferring to continue to trust only the best of its talents. As a reminder, between 2022 and 2023, tens of thousands of other workers were dismissed by GAFAM as part of the crisis combining chip shortages, the coronavirus pandemic and rising prices in Europe. But at the time, Apple was largely spared from the purge.
Apple Car: what could it have looked like?
The Apple Car would have been designed by Jony Ive, the Mr. Design at Apple until his departure from the company just a few years ago. It was he who led the design of the chassis of the iPod, that of the iMac and even that of the iPhone – supported by other employees, of course.
Recent rumors have explained that under the aegis of Jony Ive, a vehicle with a design at the crossroads of that of a Fiat Multipla and that of a Volkswagen Combi van was in the cardboards. The device was notably presented to Tim Cook as part of a demo highlighting the value proposition of Apple Plans, in the center of the dashboard. A mapping offer that many people know has many flaws, despite its recent improvements on iPhone or Mac.
No doubt, the Apple Car could also have embarked the proprietary voice assistant Siri – which should be updated at the upcoming Worldwide Developer Conference. Unfortunately, little is known at the moment. It is also very likely that Cupertino will never officially reveal anything concerning this potential intelligent automobile, the company preferring, as a general rule, to remain discreet about its future products or nipped in the bud.
To try to find out more, it is however always possible to look into Apple's database registered with the USPTO. This is the institution responsible for validating patents to protect the intellectual property of companies, in the United States (equivalent to the INPI in France). Among the documents in question, we learn that Apple had therefore attempted to develop an autonomous driving system using LiDAR, but also possible screens integrated on the exterior of the body to communicate with the user environment. Tim Cook's teams would also have imagined innovative airbags.
Focus on AI and MR
With the abandonment of Apple's electric and autonomous car, it is therefore today towards artificial intelligence that the decision has been made to turn the Californian giant further. During WWDC scheduled for June, new features will likely be announced for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, powered by generative AI to compete with the alternatives offered on the Samsung Galaxy S24 range.
With this, Apple would also like to focus on the development of augmented reality solutions. The Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset is already there to prove it, and this summer's conference will be an opportunity to discover the second major edition of its operating system. ;: visionOS.
Apple is today the second largest market capitalization on Wall Street, with a valuation around $2,618 billion and having already exceeded the significant milestone of $3,000 billion in the past. Ultimately, it is rumored that the group's internal objectives aim to abandon the iPhone in favor of solutions in the form of much more practical AR wearables, such as lenses or connected glasses. Until then, we will still have to improve the comfort of the Vision Pro and offer us a more affordable model – in the pipeline for 2027, it seems.
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