Huawei and cars: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/18/cars/huawei-new-smart-car...
Xiaomi and cars: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/xiaomis-first-electric-ca...
Apple to wind down electric car effort after decadelong odyssey
971–980 of 992 posts
Re: Apple to wind down electric car effort after decadelong odyssey
#972Probably couldn't brand and limited access to multiple parts of the car. Imagine only being able to use Apple Tires+ and nothing else.
Re: Apple to wind down electric car effort after decadelong odyssey
#973Maybe the next versions of CarPlay will be driven out of this effort.
Re: Apple to wind down electric car effort after decadelong odyssey
#974Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't like their mice? My Magic Mouse is the single most comfortable mouse I've ever had, and the only one that doesn't give me wrist or finger pain after a day's work. I've tried dozens from Logitech and Microsoft and SteelSeries and Razer, including ergo ones and track balls and track pads, but keep coming back to the Magic Mouse for its simple comforts. Similarly, the Airpod Pros are so incredibly comfortable…
I've used my Magic Mouse exactly 5 times. It forces me to both "arch" my hand because of the shape (too flat), and hover over the buttons to not accidentally trigger the gestures. For me, it's like the most uncomfortable mouse ever made, and I've ended up with cramps every single time I've used it. It's amazing to me how they were able to make both the best trackpad and the worst mouse ever. To each their own I guess…
Good point. I have tiny hands and they're perfectly supportive for me, contouring perfectly in my palm. I did turn off all the gestures aside from scrolling, though.
Being able to left click by pushing the entire top down (two fingers) is what really saved me. No other mouse I know does that.
Re: Apple to wind down electric car effort after decadelong odyssey
#975maybe the car industry was just a strategy to hire talented people. Now, they use them on useful tasks. Just a theory.
Re: Apple to wind down electric car effort after decadelong odyssey
#976An Apple car wouldn't be attractive without autonomous driving. The real (and unsurprising) news here is that Apple has given up on autonomous driving. They are far, far behind Waymo and don't want to compete with them, just like how they didn't want to compete with Google for search. They simply lack the expertise to do it.
They have no servicing model anymore. Replacing the stock like for like for each and any issue isn’t going to scale for a car. At least not in a way that makes any sustainability claims total greenwashing.
> sustainability claims total greenwashing
Already are, company replaced a natural biodegradable material with a micro-plastic shedding plastic weave
Re: Apple to wind down electric car effort after decadelong odyssey
#977After having gone through decades of adopting the "latest and greatest" tech, I've gotten to the point where what I really want is the least-complex thing I can find that does the essential job I want done. For a computer, I want something with SeaBIOS, a stripped-down kernel, and a handful of packages from the Debian Stable repository. I want it hackable and repairable -- something like a Framework. Nothing like a M…
I'm inclined to want more mechanical cars again. All the electric tech is raising car prices and blocking the right for repair ( eg. You can fix the LED light, but need a 10 k. Branded diagnose machine to indicate you fixed it). We calculated the prices from an official shop and came to the conclusion that they billed us 150€ for basically a walk to get a 2€ part.
I feel as though a lot of newer EVs include a ton of code complexity just for the sake of having a ton of code complexity. It's as if the culture of "value-add" went into hyperdrive for some of these newer car manufacturers.
For me to return to the EV market I would require that I be able to source a third-party battery pack, at the very least. I'd be fine with government regulations to block the cheap packs that catch fire. I just want the option of swapping out the pack on my own terms if I want in the future, including getting next-gen battery tech that can increase range with less volume and weight. I'd also insist that they have a "do not phone home" mode of operation, along with buttons and knobs and a small screen. And a pull-brake. And a charging infrastructure that works. And that I can use with cash.
Re: Apple to wind down electric car effort after decadelong odyssey
#978Earlier quoted context omitted.
Having worked at a car company, this is categorically false. Cars have thousands of moving parts (even EV's), are expected to operate reliably for a decade, represent the second most expensive thing most people will buy and any mistakes will kill people. If it were easy, we'd see a lot more profitable car companies.
>Cars have thousands of moving parts (even EV's) Take a car with 4 motors, 1 per wheel (which is the best arrangement). The total list of moving parts. - wheels - suspension linkage - driveshafts - brakes - pedals - windows - wipers - coolant pump - washer fluid pump - seats - frunk/trunk Thats the list of moving parts. Dunno where you got 1000 moving parts from. Most each one of those has reliable manufacturers that…
You also have the cars power steering system, AC unit, tons of additional pumps, doors / locks / handles, relays, etc. Not to mention each of these parts has bearings, joints and brushings within it.
Reliable manufactures? Auto suppliers are notorious for being unreliable - the supply chains are exceedingly complex, there's constant pressure to drive down cost and quality control lapses are a constant issue.
Not to mention each vehicle has hundreds of different suppliers and an issue in any one of them will grind your manufacturing line to a standstill.
Re: Apple to wind down electric car effort after decadelong odyssey
#979To be honest, I'm not sure what Apple could've brought to the table in regards to making an electric car. Apple's hardware design philosophies[1] don't really align with what consumers want in a car. Apple being less minimalistic than a Tesla — which is already at an extreme — is a hard sell. [1] Examples of what I mean: - Cars use faux materials all the time for cost and weight purposes, or even just looks (i.e. fak…
The attempt at the Personas eye display on the front of the Vision Pro strikes me as extravangantly whimsical and daring. An insane amount of effort and money went into this feature. Perhaps it will win users and perhaps it will be abandonned in later models but it's quite the unexpected feature.
Having used VR for years, I found it kind of brilliant. It’s clear Apple wants to make an AR display, not a VR headset, and they pulled off a convincing attempt with todays technology.
Re: Apple to wind down electric car effort after decadelong odyssey
#980Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple employees most certainly cannot talk publicly about unreleased products. Including loudly discussing their roles in restaurants.
Is that an official, Apple-specific policy written down somewhere? That doesn't seem right, and doesn't match other similar companies. I've known people at Facebook and Microsoft who were working on upcoming not-yet-released products and were free to talk about the products and their roles on them. These people, much like the person we're discussing, worked on upcoming projects which had already been publicly announc…
Apple never announced a project to build a car. Nor did they announce the cancellation of a project to build a car.
Reporters reported on internal communications and noteworthy patterns in who was hired.
Apple does not pre-announce products by more than 6-9 months, and only that in cases where developer support is needed at launch.
More generally, Apple is notorious for having policies around new product secrecy that are vastly more elaborate than other tech companies. Using Microsoft and Meta as comps seems like a bad idea.