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Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

reuters.com

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Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#121

Post by jrib »

abhinavsharma wrote: post #21

This 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…

> they've really thought through the UX of a semi-self driving car

Minor side note. I'm sure a lot of the experience is well-designed but I can't help but grimace every time I see that huge touch tablet instead of physical buttons on the dashboard.

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#122

Post by dageshi »

krrrh wrote: post #76
iandanforth wrote: post #42

Earlier 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.

I don't honestly think I'd mind.

I think they should prioritise physical controls for stuff you use regularly and I'd be happy to have voice on controls for stuff I use very infrequently.

Like putting the rear window wiper on, barely use it and half the time I accidentality turn it on (or someone else using the car does) and I have no clue how to get it off again. Just saying "siri clean the rear window" or "turn the rear window wiper off" would honestly just be easier.

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#123

Post by the-dude »

mulmen wrote: post #64
neogodless wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This reminds me of the old (rumored) exchange between GM and Bill Gates... https://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/susan/joke/crash.htm > For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day. > Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive – but would run on only five percent of the roads. > Every time GM introduced a new car, car buyers would have t…

My boss 10 years ago had a Ford Fusion with a Microsoft dashboard. Sometimes it would just go blank and he had to power cycle the car.

How was he as a boss?

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#124

Post by oblio »

sixQuarks wrote: post #96
ceejayoz wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(GM's market cap is $58.98 billion right now, for comparison's sake.)

Yes, but GM also comes with $128 billion in debt.

They don't need to buy GM, though. They could buy someone smaller, such as Mazda or Subaru.

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#125

Post by light_hue_1 »

iandanforth wrote: post #42
modeless wrote: post #6

The 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.

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…

> 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.

This is both the most functional and most beautiful design choice I've ever experienced. My favorite part of my Model 3. You quickly come to realize that voice control does everything and that you should never have to reach for a button or fiddle with climate controls, etc.

Tesla realized what all other car manufacturers failed to see, you don't need physical buttons because you don't need buttons of any kind. I'm never buying another antiquated car with physical buttons again.

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#126

Post by ianai »

underseacables wrote: post #105
lock-free wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an Apple Card, I'm unsure of what immense capital they're pouring into it with an underlying ethos of user experience.

Backed by Goldman Sachs, a company that destabilizes whole economies for profit. Apple isn’t exactly hiding which side of the income spectrum they prefer.

Right. They surely could have gone with a better institution if they were honestly making the best product for their customers.

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#127

Post by kansface »

friedman23 wrote: post #45
asadlionpk wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But those would be terrible car companies to buy imo.

why? they have the experience manufacturing huge numbers of vehicles and apple has the experience manufacturing products with good experience and build quality. Get gm to build the drivetrain and the body to apple spec, apple builds the interior themselves.

Electric cars are really simple to make (Apple doesn't need the help). GM is a legacy business with a legacy business model selling dozens of indistinguishable cars via multiple competing dealerships. Its both terrible for customers and not compatible with Apple. The reason GM is priced so low is because its half obligations and dead weight. I would not personally want to bail out the doubtlessly billions of dollars of unfunded pension obligations of GM as an investment (ie, why should apple pay for the people who last worked at GM a decade ago?). Cleaning up that mess would take serious, distracting, decade long effort if its even possible.

Apple should poach the best employees from the industry, not the companies. They could probably straight up double everyone's salary and still pay less than SV engineers. I'd also look to buy out some manufacturers in the supply chain.

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#128

Post by oblio »

aritraghosh007 wrote: post #103

The project started sometime around 2016, so going by Apple’s track record 2024 seems like a possibility. Tesla needs a competition and is slowly turning into a monopoly.

Monopoly on what? They sell about 0.5% of the cars sold worldwide.
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