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Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources
111–120 of 699 posts
Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources
#112Apple has been in and out of the car game for a few years now, with executives coming and going. What I'm about to say will be as meaningful as this hear-say article, but I feel that Apple management, and its shareholders, have no idea what it means to build a car. Things like this need 100% commitment from the management, Cook just doesn't seem like the guy to do it.
> but I feel that Apple management, and its shareholders, have no idea what it means to build a car I feel like people pretend that building a car is way harder than it actually is in 2020. All the components to build a car are readily available. A person can buy the parts on their own and put them together in their garage. It isn't like they have to go get a pick axe and start mining ore to create everything from sc…
Elon Musk, the guy responsible for sending humans to the space station, a feat that has only been matched by the largest governments, stated that building modern auto manufacturing is harder than building rockets.
Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources
#113Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources
#114The Tesla Model 3 already embodies the minimalism, software focus, and vertical integration that have driven Apple's success in the phone market. Right down to the custom SoC and capacitive touchscreen in lieu of buttons. I'm really curious what Apple's differentiators will be. Also, 2024 still seems aggressive to deploy self-driving for real.
> I'm really curious what Apple's differentiators will be. Really? Why are you not curious what the differentiator of all the car companies out there is? Why don't we just have one car company? (Hint: There is so much demand, so many different tastes, budgets and features and regulation, that a single company will never serve all of them. Tesla is a niche product and I for one would never buy one) The iPhone was spec…
I'm not curious about other car companies because their products are on the market already and their differentiators are well known by everyone...
> they have literally ZERO differentiator compared to established car companies. They are going to tank so hard stock wise
Their stock is insanely overvalued, no argument there. But they have one of the largest installed and fastest growing DC charging networks, software that doesn't suck, and the most capable and fastest improving driver assist system enabled by a proprietary custom ASIC. That's far from "ZERO" differentiators, especially in a world where other manufacturers keep faceplanting on their software efforts over and over again.
Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Apple is fundamentally now a company that can move immense amounts of capital into new industries with the underlying ethos of user experience. Also: insane supply-chain management chops, a skill that is more and more transferable - especially for electric cars.
I'm not sure I see that. Clearly they are good at making computer like things, but it's not like they're God's gift to supply chain management. There's been quite a few mistakes over the years. Hard to see them doing better than car companies that have been building cars for decades. I'm also not sure what Apple's edge here is. At this point all I really want out of an entertainment center is a screen for my phone to…
> Everything else is better done as knobs and buttons.
Apple is quite good at knobs and buttons, and what may eventually become interior finishes.
Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources
#116Apple has been in and out of the car game for a few years now, with executives coming and going. What I'm about to say will be as meaningful as this hear-say article, but I feel that Apple management, and its shareholders, have no idea what it means to build a car. Things like this need 100% commitment from the management, Cook just doesn't seem like the guy to do it.
> Things like this need 100% commitment from the management Then how can Elon Musk pull it off with only 50%?
You could put me in charge and assuming I really go 100%, I doubt I'd pull it off. Point is, it also takes someone who really wants to and can do it.
Also, I'm just a guy on the internet, I really hope Cook sees this and decides to spite me and build an awesome car, I'm also a dreamer.
Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources
#117This is starting to make increasingly more sense even though Apple making a car seemed laughable a few years ago. Apple is fundamentally now a company that can move immense amounts of capital into new industries with the underlying ethos of user experience. Apple Card was perhaps a dipping of the toes moment. In theory, Tesla shouldn't be worth what it is because the tech behind it is increasingly getting commoditize…
All of that is true, but cars are huge in terms of complexity, the types of labour/supply chains, distribution, etc. etc.. I guess they are the company to 'try it' but really it's a monster bet. It'd be interesting if they have an 'angle' that allows them to start small, possibly with a specific kind of public transport or closed-system solution for urban transport, with entities like Dubai (i.e. cash flush) buying i…
The angle would be treating it as a new front in the war with Google and Microsoft.
Car = game console = phone = laptop
Just another platform to own, so that one might control and tax users there-on.
Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple could outright buy GM or Ford with cash.
Just did a quick check. Apple can buy GM AND Ford with cash, and still have nearly half their reserve left over. $191.83 billion cash on hand end of October[0], GM is 59B market cap[1], and Ford is $35B market cap. I guess there is a premium you pay when acquiring a public company, but still astounding numbers. [0] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/29/apple-q4-cash-hoard-heres-ho... [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=GM+…
You're not factoring in debt. GM and Ford have a combined $300 billion in debt.
Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
Having recently sold my Tesla Model 3 I can say there is a lot to be desired with that car. The biggest lesson from Tesla is that cars are not cellphones. Having one display off to the side, without buttons, that does everything is an awful experience in a car. I hope that Apple learns that lesson. I think if they had gone first they might have made that mistake too, but now that it's been tried they can find interes…
> I think if they had gone first they might have made that mistake too, but now that it's been tried they can find interesting ways to innovate that don't break the experience. I’m just hoping that they don’t relegate a lot of stuff like climate control to a Siri-only interface.
butterfly keyboard buttons maybe or a circular touchbar on the wheel?
Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources
#120Apple always innovates on top of a user experience change. I doubt this time will be different. Tesla made the touchscreen dominant, but Apple won't copy it. Touch screens in cars leave a lot to be desired -- they aren't particularly ergonomic and they lead to screen fatigue. They also don't make much sense in a fully autonomous era.
Apple will likely build an AR-centric user experience using the windshield and new control paradigms. There's a huge area for creativity here and I don't doubt Apple can come up with something that will make a big touch screen seem archaic. If they can make the driver optional, there's even more room to think different.