then handed the
project over to
Kevin Lynch, the
software engineer
responsible
for the Apple
Watch’s software.
Under this new
leadership, the
report claims, Apple
has settled on the
more ambitious of
two potential plans:
A fully autonomous
vehicle, rather
than one that focuses only on driving
assistance similar to many vehicles
sold today. The report says that if
Apple can’t get its fully autonomous
system done in time for the 2025 date
it could either delay the car’s release
or sell one with lesser technology.
Apple currently tests autonomous
vehicles in California, where it has
fewer than 70 autonomous vehicles
registered with the DMV, as of 2020.
That’s a pretty low number, though
Apple could have expanded its
testing fleet in 2021.
Bloomberg’s report claims that
Apple’s ideal car would have no
steering wheel at all, and Apple has
explored several different interior
layouts and designs. ‘People familiar
with the matter’ claim that Apple
has reached a major milestone in
its self-driving system, completing
the core work on the internally-
designed processor it intends to
ship in the vehicle. The chip is the
most sophisticated Apple has yet
developed and is expected to run hot
and require special cooling as Apple
begins using it in retrofit test vehicles.
The project’s timetable is still quite
aggressive. It often takes at least two
or three years for an established car
company to go from a final prototype
design it can show the public to mass
production and customer deliveries,
and Apple is still a long way from a
completed design. It will also need a
car production partner, which in itselfKevin Lynch is to lead Apple’s car ambitions.