There are always some rumors floating around about Apple that typically deal with the companies new projects or what the newest iPhone will feature. Well recently we started to hear rumors that Apple may in fact be developing some sort of automobile for consumers. Many people were quick to dismiss that rumor, however it now appears that those rumors are probably true as it does seem in fact that Apple has plans to release a car…. and it will be here sooner than you think.
Bloomberg News recently reported that according to multiple anonymous sources, Apple is in fact working on a car. According to their sources Apple hopes to have “Apple Cars” on the road as early as 2020; an ambitious release date for sure. It typically takes automobile companies around seven years to develop a car, and Apple wants to release their first car in just five years. Apparently Apple has brought on many people to work on the car (known as “Project Titan”) and they are all working overtime to get the vehicle ready by 2020.
So what exactly does this Apple Car entail and what will it be like? Well it is too early to say at this point, but we can most-likely expect a polished product in typical Apple fashion. Other sources have indicated that there is an extremely high chance that this will be a fully-electric vehicle. Elon Musk, the C.E.O. behind Tesla, has reported that Apple is hiring many electric car battery engineers, and is scooping them up at a fast rate. Apparently Apple is offering these battery engineers a $250,000 signing bonus and a salary that is 60% higher than what they currently make; not too bad at all. Apple has also filed around 17 patens with the company Liquidmetal to produce their moldable “nanophosphate metal” that can be shaped like plastic. Unibody cars anyone?
Many fans of the brand are excited about the Apple Car or the “iCar”, and it will be interesting to see how it influences the automobile industry. Google is also working on a self-driving car and so far these are the only two tech giants to have plans for a consumer vehicle. So will the Apple Car be as influential as the iPod and the iPhone were, or will it be a big flop? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, the automobile industry seems like it will be very different in the next five years.
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