Okay guys, in what universe does an Apple Car make sense?

[desura]

An Apple flat screen tv or an Apple DSLR make sense and fits in with their previous design experience. A car otoh is exceedingly complex and regulated and Apple would be a new entrant in an industry with plenty of competition and innovation already.

 

[Blackjack200]

An Apple flat screen tv or an Apple DSLR make sense and fits in with their previous design experience. A car otoh is exceedingly complex and regulated and Apple would be a new entrant in an industry with plenty of competition and innovation already.

Flat screen TVs and DSLRs are low margin businesses, DSLRs also require making low volume high end lenses so your camera will be used by pros.

Cars could make sense, especially if they can manufacture them in China for a fraction of competitors' costs. Apparently they have Musk worried enough that he's taking pot shots.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Apple cars will need their own type of fuel, their gas nozzle will be a different shape that won't git regular ones found at gas stations, and their spark plugs will be sealed so you cannot replace them.

 

[JackBurton]

Apple cars will need their own type of fuel, their gas nozzle will be a different shape that won't git regular ones found at gas stations, and their spark plugs will be sealed so you cannot replace them.

??? Doubt they're working on a combustion engine. I'll give you a 2/10 for the effort though.

 

[JackBurton]

An Apple flat screen tv or an Apple DSLR make sense and fits in with their previous design experience. A car otoh is exceedingly complex and regulated and Apple would be a new entrant in an industry with plenty of competition and innovation already.

You know there was similar criticism when Apple was rumored to be making a phone, right?

 

[Artdeco]

Actually, it makes a lot of sense, high margin electric cars with decent electronics. They can have all the major sub assemblies made in other countries, assemble it here, win/win.

I'm sick to death of the crappy electrics/electronics in cars.

 

[Eug]

Same universe as a Google Car. Or a Tesla for that matter.

 

[desura]

You know there was similar criticism when Apple was rumored to be making a phone, right?

The iPhones have never been known for good call quality, especially the initial batches. Physical stuff akin to call quality will be even more important for a car.

 

[Printer Bandit]

imagine calling tech support or getting a software OTA update for a car.

the day is coming...

 

[Artdeco]

imagine calling tech support or getting a software OTA update for a car.

the day is coming...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9O05htLHWuE

 

[ControlD]

Apple is betting that the next big automotive market will be electric vehicles. They have enough money to do the design work and that market is still pretty open. Still, it is a huge risk and a sure sign that even Apple doesn't believe smart phones and tablets will be able to sustain the profit margins they hope to keep.

It will be interesting to see how things shake out. There are a lot of players getting ready to enter the electric vehicle market, many of them with decades of experience in designing and building cars. There are also some really interesting hybrid vehicles in the design stage right now (Toyota Mirai for example) but I assume Apple is looking at a purely electric vehicle right now.

 

[rugby]

The iPhones have never been known for good call quality, especially the initial batches. Physical stuff akin to call quality will be even more important for a car.

What? I've had every iPhone made and call quality is fine. In fact on Verizon I get VoLTE and it sounds amazing.

 

[Rakehellion]

Looking forward to Find My iCar so I can remember where the hell iParked.

 

[Red Storm]

Electric, self driving cars are the future. It makes a ton of sense for a tech company to try and get in on that.

 

[Oyeve]

So, when you crash an apple car, will apple say you were driving it wrong?

 

[Midwayman]

They are going to contract out the car part of the car most likely. You are going to see apple designed UI and AI. They're already dipping a toe in the water with car play.

 

[freeskier93]

Makes a lot of sense to me. The forward facing electronics of cars are painfully outdated and the proprietary ecosystems are terrible. Who better than a tech company, with arguably one of the best ecosystems around, to come in an make an all electric car with the technology that matches what we'd expect for 2015 (or whenever this hypothetical car is released).

I think Apple is one of the few tech companies that could give Tesla a run for it's money in these respects. Google could but they seem to be more focused on self driving with not much interest in an actual car.

 

[ControlD]

Makes a lot of sense to me. The forward facing electronics of cars are painfully outdated and the proprietary ecosystems are terrible. Who better than a tech company, with arguably one of the best ecosystems around, to come in an make an all electric car with the technology that matches what we'd expect for 2015 (or whenever this hypothetical car is released).

I think Apple is one of the few tech companies that could give Tesla a run for it's money in these respects. Google could but they seem to be more focused on self driving with not much interest in an actual car.

What proprietary ecosystems are you referring to in regards to the cars currently available? I see plenty of different interfaces, but I haven't seen any auto maker ecosystems really. Generally they support iOS and/or Android as far as those things go. I haven't seen a Ford or Honda app store yet.

I would argue that a Apple car would probably be more proprietary than any auto we have seen in the past. Whether that is a good or bad thing probably is a matter of end user perspective.

 

[Rakehellion]

They are going to contract out the car part of the car most likely. You are going to see apple designed UI and AI. They're already dipping a toe in the water with car play.

Nah, Telsa came out of nowhere and produced an actual car. Apparently its a business anyone can get into now.

 

[Midwayman]

Nah, Telsa came out of nowhere and produced an actual car. Apparently its a business anyone can get into now.

Not like Telsa was started by a guy with aerospace industry experience or anything.

 

[Aikouka]

What proprietary ecosystems are you referring to in regards to the cars currently available? I see plenty of different interfaces, but I haven't seen any auto maker ecosystems really.

I think you're looking at his comments in far too much of a smartphone mindset. He's not talking about software ecosystems so much as hardware ecosystems. Modern vehicles contain numerous processors that all talk to each other, and that commonly occurs over a CAN bus. (I believe Tesla is using Ethernet though.) What makes this painful, and what I think he's really talking about, is that it's usually nigh impossible to truly upgrade electronics in a car. For example, I have a 2013 Ford with MyFord Touch. Ford recently announced an upgraded infotainment system that would completely replace MyFord Touch, and I asked them whether there would be hardware upgrades available for older cars.

I'm pretty sure you can guess their answer to that one. No. But I'm welcome to spent $47k on a new car whenever the new software comes out! :awe: Why does this happen? Because infotainment systems in Ford cars control a lot more than just the song that's currently playing. For example, my system controls all climate options as well as various settings about the car (auto-high beams, etc.).

 

[mikegg]

An Apple flat screen tv or an Apple DSLR make sense and fits in with their previous design experience. A car otoh is exceedingly complex and regulated and Apple would be a new entrant in an industry with plenty of competition and innovation already.

Imagine this:

Google has successfully developed a self-driving car and is licensing the technology to every car maker out there for free. In return, the car makers all run Android on the dashboard/windshield screen. Because the user doesn't have to drive anymore, the user will be using Android every day on their commute and roadtrips.

Apple, meanwhile, doesn't have anything to compete. Users will rapidly migrate everything to Android/Google because their cars run Android.

But Apple is smarter than that. If your car, your house, your refrigerator, your phone, your watch all run Apple software, you're stuck in their ecosystem.

 

[ControlD]

I think you're looking at his comments in far too much of a smartphone mindset. He's not talking about software ecosystems so much as hardware ecosystems. Modern vehicles contain numerous processors that all talk to each other, and that commonly occurs over a CAN bus. (I believe Tesla is using Ethernet though.) What makes this painful, and what I think he's really talking about, is that it's usually nigh impossible to truly upgrade electronics in a car. For example, I have a 2013 Ford with MyFord Touch. Ford recently announced an upgraded infotainment system that would completely replace MyFord Touch, and I asked them whether there would be hardware upgrades available for older cars.

I'm pretty sure you can guess their answer to that one. No. But I'm welcome to spent $47k on a new car whenever the new software comes out! :awe: Why does this happen? Because infotainment systems in Ford cars control a lot more than just the song that's currently playing. For example, my system controls all climate options as well as various settings about the car (auto-high beams, etc.).

Yeah, I see your point and CAN went through my mind but that is anything but proprietary. I feel you on the MyTouch thing though. My wife has the precursor to that (Trip Tunes I think) and it broke early on and can't be replaced either. Luckily hers isn't as integrated as yours.

Still, I will be shocked if Apple or anyone else has an electronics system that is truly upgradeable. I would love to be proven wrong though.

 

[iluvdeal]

Not like Telsa was started by a guy with aerospace industry experience or anything.

Musk is an entrepreneur and visionary, he can hire the needed brain power to achieve his dreams for whatever industry he decides to enter. Apple can do the same.

I'm glad tech companies are entering the automobile space, the old guard seemed to resist any sort of change including ones that seem obvious like raising mpg standards. Attitudes like that leads to no progress, we need more tech company mentality in that industry. Let the dinosaurs who can't adapt go extinct.

 

[desura]

Imagine this:

Google has successfully developed a self-driving car and is licensing the technology to every car maker out there for free. In return, the car makers all run Android on the dashboard/windshield screen. Because the user doesn't have to drive anymore, the user will be using Android every day on their commute and roadtrips.

Apple, meanwhile, doesn't have anything to compete. Users will rapidly migrate everything to Android/Google because their cars run Android.

But Apple is smarter than that. If your car, your house, your refrigerator, your phone, your watch all run Apple software, you're stuck in their ecosystem.

I would love to see Apple coming up with something like the Misfit bolt. Baby steps make sense. But a car is the most complex consumer good there is.