Apple has been repeatedly rumored for years to set its sights on self-driving cars. Those rumors seem to have come to the fore in the last few weeks, with more concrete talks about Apple’s plans, especially in the battery department. The latest word now is that Apple is in talks with South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai and, judging by how the latter’s share jumped immediately, interest in this venture is quite high, as are the expectations of Apple’s self-driving car that may not even appear until 2028.
To be clear, the report does not shed much light on Apple’s plans, but Hyundai’s statements alone already carry a lot of weight in confirming that Apple does actually have such plans in the first place. According to a spokesperson, Apple is talking to a number of automakers around the world, including Hyundai.
Apple, of course, is not expected to produce its own cars, much like how some self-driving car companies are developing on top of existing car manufacturers’ models. Automobile manufacturers may be struggling to compete who is honored to be Apple’s chosen partner in this effort. That said, it’s still not clear what that partnership would mean and how much control Apple will have over the product.
Recent speculation has already seen Apple’s battery-operated innovations for self-driving cars. Details are also still thin on the matter, and the company has been pretty good at avoiding leaks here, as opposed to iPhone and iPad leaks. The fact that there is not much to go on yet has actually caused analyst Ming-chi Kuo to give warnings about the market hype generated by these rumors, as evidenced by the sudden rise in the share of the companies rumored to be involved.
Read more’ The Apple iPhone charging cable could be removed from the package
Kuo speculates that the earliest we could see Apple’s self-driving car would be 2025 or 2028. He expects the company to focus more on components such as battery and AI, and to offload production and design to car manufacturers such as Hyundai.
source”’ slashgear
