{"id":578011,"date":"2024-02-28T13:22:08","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T18:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/?p=578011"},"modified":"2024-02-28T13:22:08","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T18:22:08","slug":"apple-reportedly-pulls-plug-on-autonomous-vehicles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/apple-reportedly-pulls-plug-on-autonomous-vehicles\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple reportedly pulls plug on autonomous vehicles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An Apple autonomous vehicle being tested in Santa Clara in 2019. | Credit: Associated Press<\/p><\/div>\n

Driving my Tesla<\/a> is more like driving an iPad around than it is like driving a car. The iPad-size screen, which doubles as a dashboard, may actually be bigger than my iPad Pro. You interact with the pseudo-Apple screen for every function in the Tesla, save a few like steering and braking. But while Tesla copies the iPad, it fails to get everything right like the iPad and after many frustrated attempts at finding or controlling vehicle function, I often wonder when is Apple finally going to come out with its iCar?<\/p>\n

I got an answer most unwelcome this afternoon: Never. According to Bloomberg<\/a><\/em>, Apple announced in an internal meeting that the not-so-secret Titan Project (AKA Project 172, according to The New York Times<\/em>) will be abandoned. Apple will be moving people to other jobs, and many will start to work on the company’s AI projects.<\/p>\n

\u201ciCar\u201d is only a wish, not the official name as far as we know. Apple has never disclosed the name, or ever publicly discussed its plans for an electric autonomous vehicle<\/a>. The iCar may have been the ultra-secretive company\u2019s worst kept secret. Patents for AV technology were found early on, fueling (pun intended) much anticipation. Seeing the prototypes on public roads was to remove all doubt of the iCar\u2019s existence, though not its name. Apple even significantly ramped up its AV testing in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What may have been a cruel blow to Apple fans is also no endorsement for CEO Tim Cook, who took over after Steve Jobs died. It was a hard act for anyone to follow. Jobs had introduced the next big thing several times. Cook may be remembered for the next little thing: the Apple Watch. To his credit, the Apple Watch displaced quartz watches and introduced watches to a generation unaccustomed to them, but it sells for a less than half the price of iPhone and a fraction of the price of MacBooks. The Vision Pro, a VR headset, while Apple\u2019s most expensive product ($3499) was only recently made available and it remains to be seen how well it will sell. In both cases, inventions during Cook\u2019s tenure have not made as dramatic gains to the top line as have MacBooks and, most importantly, iPhones.<\/p>\n