Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

reuters.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

231–240 of 699 posts

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

#231

Post by chipotle_coyote »

actuator wrote: post #186

Has Apple been poaching significant self driving talent to attempt self driving version of the electric car? Based on their consumer electronics past, Apple would probably nail the design and get the hardware mostly right. For self driving I think Apple's best bet here to me seems like licensing Waymo tech. Waymo seems to have the lead amongst all and Apple would be more interested in the complete product unlike Waym…

> Has Apple been poaching significant self driving talent to attempt self driving version of the electric car?

Well, the linked article mentioned Apple's rumored project is being led by Doug Fields, who was Tesla's senior VP of engineering. There are probably others.

Of course, poaching engineers in such a hotly competitive industry seems like could lead to a lot of accusations of trade secret theft. It's sure a good thing Tesla and Apple aren't both famously litigious...

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

#232

Post by yreg »

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…

>Having one display off to the side, without buttons, that does everything is an awful experience in a car.

It also totally sounds like something Apple would do.

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

#233

Post by Nkuna »

I'm a simple man. I prefer my mobile device manufacturer to be different from my auto maker. Maybe that's just me.

Another aspect I think Apple will struggle with (if they really pursue a full blown car) is the very same reason it succeeds: brand affinity.

It was easy to ditch BlackBerry when the iPhone came out because the cost of buying a first gen product wasn't so high.

I love BMW and don't see any current or nascent tech changing that. I'd love for them to compete, really compete(!!) with Tesla et al. because EVs and all they represent is exciting but I'm not so hot on Tesla. Great brand and product but kinda feel I'm not their primary demographic: tech bros who wear Allbirds and live in Silicon Valley.

German carmakers have a rich history that speaks for itself when you see the badge on the bonnet. Can't say the same about Tesla, let alone Apple.

Say what you will but Nazi Sled > Tesla any day. At least for me.

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

#234

Post by jacobolus »

xvector wrote: post #225
FireBeyond wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was even worse was the usual Apple cycle of deny there's an issue, begrudgingly acknowledge that it "may" be an issue, and then tout a new, improved version that fixed things and resolved the problem (and then didn't - how many iterations of the butterfly are we on now?).

> and then didn't [resolve the problem] - how many iterations of the butterfly are we on now? Uh, the butterfly isn't used in Apple keyboards anymore. They reverted to the old scissor switch design some time ago.

They got through at least 3 versions of the butterfly design, and kept using it from early 2015 through late 2019, before finally switching to a new (thinner than pre-2015, but still substantially thicker than the butterfly switch) rubber dome scissor design.

It would have been much better if they had figured out how to cut their losses and revert the keyboards in 2016 or early 2017, even though that would have taken a substantial redesign of the rest of the laptop internals.

Selling 4.5 years of laptops with keyboards that broke easily under ordinary use was a huge black eye for the company.

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

#235

Post by africanboy »

Shivetya wrote: post #201
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 disagree with your assessment of the one screen driving experience. First and foremost the use of the screen is incidental to driving. Just the normal eye travel one has when checking the mirrors is more than sufficient to pick up your speed and outside of that the glance time is insignificant. If you really want to make this fun, you don't even need to know as you can use traffic aware cruise control, a feature ma…

I don't own a car anymore, but the Car2go I rent has five (maybe 6) buttons total

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

#237

Post by random5634 »

treis wrote: post #187
onethought wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Hard to see them doing better than car companies that have been building cars for decades. I'm sure Nokia had the same confidence in 2005.

Sure, but Apple had a revolutionary new product. They weren't that great at the nuts and bolts of making a phone, but it didn't matter because the concept of the iPhone was so much better than any phone out there. What is Apple going to bring to the car to match that?

Except they were better at making a phone, and then controlling costs in making advanced phones. Nokia could NOT compete. Even Microsoft gave up (despite billions). Even now, with years of competition, their margins are FAR higher than others making smartphones. Eye wateringly higher.

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

#238

Post by lotsofpulp »

FireBeyond wrote: post #190
KoftaBob wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't mind that when the industries they're expanding into are uncompetitive and controlled by a small # of incumbents. When companies with the resources of a FAANG enter industries like that, they're able to make it price competitive quickly. For example, what Netflix did to the cable industry.

And now my Netflix is almost at $20/month. And $12/month for Hulu. What about Disney+? Peacock? HBO Max? Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

It’s not the same from my experience. Before, I needed to spend at least a couple hundred dollars (usually on a contract spending an hour on the phone to cancel) on one vendor, who may or may not have the content I want, and it may or may not be available at the time I want it.

Now, I can pick and choose exactly what I want, when I want it, and without advertising breaks. Obviously, if you want everything, then you have to pay for everything. All with a few clicks.

Definitely not the same.

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

#240

Post by fiddlerwoaroof »

treis wrote: post #187
onethought wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Hard to see them doing better than car companies that have been building cars for decades. I'm sure Nokia had the same confidence in 2005.

Sure, but Apple had a revolutionary new product. They weren't that great at the nuts and bolts of making a phone, but it didn't matter because the concept of the iPhone was so much better than any phone out there. What is Apple going to bring to the car to match that?

I’ll just say that the main benefit of a Tesla, besides driving and handling really nicely is that the electronics are actually good: it’s entertainment system isn’t a hacky afterthought; also, just plugging into the supercharger and walking away makes the whole “messing with payment methods” paradigm of gas stations seem obsolete.
Post reply on HN