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

reuters.com

401–410 of 699 posts

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

#401
post #374

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They could, but they won't be very competitive.

Competitive in what sense?

Mostly price and battery range. Sure, they might make a better design and interior, but price and battery range are the biggest competitive factors with EVs

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

#402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I pay for Netflix and HBO Max, and my friends (sorry "my family") use them. I don't pay for Disney+ or Hulu, but I use my friend's (sorry "family's") account. Additionally, canceling any of these services is trivial, and I can stagger them month by month if I wanted.

And? I can pirate movies and TV shows, too. I'm not sure how this changes my point.

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

#403

If I was an Apple shareholder (I guess I am, indirectly through Berkshire), this would piss me off. Apple is in a very good business. Cars are a terrible business. Just compare Apple’s margins to any car company. Also, it’s really hard to move into a business that is widely outside your core competency. It can be done, but the effort is huge, and I suspect the median track record is poor.

Cars in the future will be different than Cars of the past. It will be a high-margin business. Exactly the same as it was with "dumb phones" to "smart phones". Esp. with semi self driving.

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

#404
post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised so many people here on HN are not up to speed with Tesla enough to know that Apple could never compete with them if they don't do their own manufacturing. Tesla is the most vertically integrated car manufacturer right now, and that's a huge competitive advantage. They plan to manufacturer their batteries directly into the vehicle frames. This saves a ton of weight and would be nearly impossible for a co…

What you say is only true for battery packs and the skateboard of Tesla. Rest of the car, assembly and painting is easily outsourced. Tesla is below average car outside the skateboard. The quality of workmanship is not good. They would have already made millions of cars without Elons robot factory dream that failed.

OK, we shall see

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

#405
post #307
post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

You've completely missed it. Apple was manifestly incredibly great at the "nuts and bolts of making a phone". That's the entire lesson of the last 13 years and the most successful single product in world history.

The iPhone did not even have 3G on launch. 3G was a pretty basic feature for an expensive smartphone by that time already.

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

#406
post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Despite becoming more similar in recent years, the cell phone supply chain is still very different than the automotive supply chain. The number of parts/unit differs by an order of magnitude and so does the size and weight, not to mention manufacturing techniques and materials. These are capabilities, not so much skills, and they aren't as transferable as you may think. For instance, logistically things are very diff…

The engine of my electric car has one moving part. One. Made in house from raw materials. Rolls of steel, copper, and aluminum. It’s also considered a single part for manufacturing and servicing purposes. So not simply one moving part. One part, period. >The number of parts/unit differs by an order of magnitude >car companies often rely on hundreds of suppliers See above. You must be thinking of ICE cars. >aren’t as…

There's a lot more to a car than just the engine. Power transmission, brakes, power steering, heating/cooling, etc. All of those have moving parts. There are likely hundreds of parts suppliers just for those subsystems. Yeah, the engine of an ICE car is more complicated than an electric car[0], but there is a lot more that has to be supplied an integrated.

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

#407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you think Apple is capable of building rockets? They have essentially zero aerospace expertise and that type of engineering is not at all in their DNA. Sure, they have billions of dollars to burn so it's within the realm of possibility, but it would be a very inefficient use of their cash.

Well, Elon Musk didn't have aerospace experience expertise either. Neither did Jeff Bezos.

Jeff Bezos started 2 years earlier with a much larger war chest, and has yet to send a rocket into orbit, let alone send humans to a space station.

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

#408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Despite becoming more similar in recent years, the cell phone supply chain is still very different than the automotive supply chain. The number of parts/unit differs by an order of magnitude and so does the size and weight, not to mention manufacturing techniques and materials. These are capabilities, not so much skills, and they aren't as transferable as you may think. For instance, logistically things are very diff…

Are you sure an EV is still that much more complex in terms of part count from a phone ? An ICE I would agree.

How many windows are on an iPhone? Window motors? Window motor switches? Door panels to hold the window motor switches? Mechanical guides for the windows? The little weather striping to keep rain out from inside the doors?

How many doors are there on an iPhone? Door latches? Door locks? Door handles? Door close sensors? Weather stripping to keep the rain out from inside the cabin? The little sticker inside the door listing the OEM specs of tire pressure?

How many wheels are there on an iPhone? How many tires? Wheel lugs? TPMS sensors? TPMS readers? Hubs? Brake rotors? Brake calipers? Brake pads?

And on, and on, and on...

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

#409
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.

> I'm really curious what Apple's differentiators will be. In the car market, being a different brand is a differentiator. Ferrari, McLaren, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and Porsche don't offer vastly different products. But the car market is heavily driven by people wanting something different from their friends. Once Teslas become popular enough, people will want something else just to be different.

Bugatti and Porsche are about as far away as Porsche and Tata. There are more differences between cars in terms of unique tech than there are between Apple and Android phones today. I don’t agree with this at all.

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

#410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I give the "worst" award to the wiper controls, but I do dislike the mushy feel of the control stalks and the way turn signal cancellation works. Last time I drove a BMW I recall it working similarly though, so maybe it's just the style now?

Perhaps it is just a defect in my hardware, but on mine it is nearly impossible to reliably "soft" press in either direction. Every motion either registers as nothing or hard press.

I had this issue with mine ( 2018 M3 ). It is a known issue and the service center fixed it.
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