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

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

#161

Post by billylindeman » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 9:49 PM UTC

vsareto wrote: post #98

SkyMarshal wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'm really curious what Apple's differentiators will be. There's room for more than one car company like this. If Apple brings high quality, tight fit and finish, elegant design, software focus, vertical integration (including their new M1 processor tech), logistics support (charging station network, maintenance, etc), and "next-level batteries" to the mix, then I'm sure they'll find space in the market. If Apple ca…

The processor tech isn't going to do much for cars. They could get by with something cheaper no doubt. I don't think anyone really cares about clock speed or processor efficiency in a car because you're not really doing anything that last decades' processors couldn't handle (especially with less bloated code bases). Maybe face recognition + key fob presence to authenticate and start the car. I don't know if Apple's q…

"apples quality" if the car was the quality of my touchbar macbook i'd leave it on the side of the road and walk home

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

#162

Post by the_duke » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 9:49 PM UTC

sixQuarks wrote: post #112

buzzerbetrayed wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Well, he did not say that building cars is harder than building rockets, but that "building the machine that builds the machine" is more difficult.

As in: efficient, large volume manufacturing and supply chain management. But that's obviously a very different kind of challenge.

He said the same thing about the new SpaceX rocket, Starship, which is supposed to be produced in large volumes.

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

#163

Post by wefarrell » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 9:50 PM UTC

neogodless wrote: post #54

SkyMarshal wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'm really curious what Apple's differentiators will be. There's room for more than one car company like this. If Apple brings high quality, tight fit and finish, elegant design, software focus, vertical integration (including their new M1 processor tech), logistics support (charging station network, maintenance, etc), and "next-level batteries" to the mix, then I'm sure they'll find space in the market. If Apple ca…

But lately Apple has been trending towards not including the charger.

I know you meant this tongue in cheek but I think one day cars will be wirelessly charged through certain roads.

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

#164

Post by function_seven » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 9:50 PM UTC

sneak wrote: post #115

treis wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

When they decide to implement a hardware control, it's usually done well. But their records is hit-and-miss in my opinion.

Good: iPod click wheel, iPhone side buttons/switches, old chiclet keyboards, trackpad.

Bad: Butterfly keyboards, AppleTV remote is awful (swipes and edge-clicks for all sorts of things), their mice have always been a pain to use (wanna right click? Better lift your left finger completely away from the mouse)

But they also aggressively remove physical interfaces where possible. One-button mice, removal of home button on iPhone, removal of function keys on MacBooks, etc.

I hope they don't do that with a car. There should be a dozen knobs and buttons that have dedicated features. Not just wipers and signals either. I'm talking about volume control, seat adjustments, windows, etc.

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

#165

Post by cwhiz » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 9:51 PM UTC

At this point the charging infrastructure is the biggest differentiator for me. I don't particularly care for Elon Musk, and I don't think Tesla vehicles are made particularly well. However, is there any competitor that has even 25% of the charging network that Tesla has?

Also, Apple can't even convert my voicemails into text. They seem like 3-5 generations behind the competition in machine learning. People believe they'll have a self driving car in a little over three years? Mmmmmmkay.

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

#166

Post by tananaev » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 9:52 PM UTC

wefarrell wrote: post #154

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 was under the impression that Lyft wasn't building self-driving in house and was instead partnering with Waymo. It looks like they do have in house self driving: https://self-driving.lyft.com/level5/ But they also have an extensive partnership with Waymo: https://self-driving.lyft.com/riders/ I also know that both Alphabet and GM have large stakes in Lyft. I bought stock in Lyft with the expectation that they will…

Lyft has both own self-driving project and integration with multiple third party vendors.

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

#167

Post by Drdrdrq » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 9:53 PM UTC

sixQuarks wrote: post #112

buzzerbetrayed wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

And? Are you saying that Apple couldn't build rockets?

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

#168

Post by reitzensteinm » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 9:53 PM UTC

ajross wrote: post #107

finnh wrote: post #43

Earlier 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 don't know that I completely buy that. Shipping/transport and resource management at the scale of automobile production is a rather different world than consumer electronics where literally everything anyone cares about fits on a plain old wooden pallet. Apple does have smart people, and they obviously have a ton of cash. So they absolutely could make a play here. But to imagine that they'll walk in to a market tha…

I 100% agree Apple won't walk in and be competitive out the gate. But who in this chain is claiming that? Grandparent specifically listed patience as an Apple virtue, which implies they'll need staying power.

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

#169

Post by colinmhayes » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 9:54 PM UTC

annexrichmond wrote: post #13

This would be great if the consumer cost is competitive. Right now you have to spend almost $40k to get over 200mi of range it seems, which is still too expensive for most people.

leaf and bolt around 30k after tax rebates

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

#170

Post by light_hue_1 » Mon, Dec 21, 2020, 9:54 PM UTC

themaninthedark wrote: post #143

andreilys wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I rented a Tesla I recall being able to set all these controls with my voice.

How well does voice control handle outside noise? Torrential downpours, sleet/hail? If the windows start to fog during one of those situations, taking your attention off the road to look and swipe is very dangerous. Edit to add: Is the voice processing being handled on board? If not, then if your signal fails....

> How well does voice control handle outside noise? Torrential downpours, sleet/hail?

The Model 3 at least is remarkably quiet; hard rain and street noise and dampened a lot. To the point where we felt it was almost eerie the first time we took it home. Voice recognition has been perfect in all conditions.