Rumor: Control of user data railroaded 'Project Titan' talks between Apple and BMW, Daimler
Apple was said to be involved in negotiations with automakers BMW and Daimler, but discussions fell apart because the parties couldn't agree on who would own and protect the data associated with a connected, self-driving car.
Sources who spoke with Germany's Handelsblatt suggested that user privacy may have been a key sticking point between Apple and the carmakers. It was said Apple wanted its own secure iCloud software to be used for data, while the German companies sought to protect customer data themselves.
Apple has had similar disputes in the past, both with wireless carriers and with partners like Google. A fallout with the latter led Apple to build its own mapping service, rather than share customer data with Google.
User security has since become something of a key selling point for Apple's products, with the company repeatedly vowing to protect user data, not sell it. Rivals and partners such as Google and Facebook rely almost exclusively on collecting user data for selling ads.
As for Apple's automotive project, the so-called "Project Titan" is said to be focused on German technology, via an office in Berlin, according to Handelsblatt. With Daimler and BMW apparently out of the picture, Apple's next best target is said to be Magna.
Reports from earlier this week revealed Apple's secret car lab in Berlin keeps a small team of 15 to 20 employees. They are said to be tasked with imagining and realizing vehicles of the future.
Thursday's report described "Project Titan" as a "highly-networked electric car that would also be at least partially self-driving."
BMW has previously expressed caution about sharing information with companies like Apple, out of worry that it might effectively become just another supplier. However, technologies like self-driving systems might demand help from outside parties such as Apple and Google, which are more familiar with software.
Apple and BMW were previously revealed to have held talks about a potential partnership, though it was said that the two parties were not close to an agreement.
In an exclusive report detailing Apple's automotive project last year, AppleInsider revealed "Titan" was operating out of a top secret facility close to the company's campus in Cupertino, Calif. Subsequent reports estimate Apple's stateside team now consists of well over 1,000 employees, including a number of high-profile industry hires. However, AppleInsider sources in February said executives were disappointed with the group's slow progress, prompting a temporary hiring freeze.
Sources who spoke with Germany's Handelsblatt suggested that user privacy may have been a key sticking point between Apple and the carmakers. It was said Apple wanted its own secure iCloud software to be used for data, while the German companies sought to protect customer data themselves.
Apple has had similar disputes in the past, both with wireless carriers and with partners like Google. A fallout with the latter led Apple to build its own mapping service, rather than share customer data with Google.
User security has since become something of a key selling point for Apple's products, with the company repeatedly vowing to protect user data, not sell it. Rivals and partners such as Google and Facebook rely almost exclusively on collecting user data for selling ads.
As for Apple's automotive project, the so-called "Project Titan" is said to be focused on German technology, via an office in Berlin, according to Handelsblatt. With Daimler and BMW apparently out of the picture, Apple's next best target is said to be Magna.
Reports from earlier this week revealed Apple's secret car lab in Berlin keeps a small team of 15 to 20 employees. They are said to be tasked with imagining and realizing vehicles of the future.
Thursday's report described "Project Titan" as a "highly-networked electric car that would also be at least partially self-driving."
BMW has previously expressed caution about sharing information with companies like Apple, out of worry that it might effectively become just another supplier. However, technologies like self-driving systems might demand help from outside parties such as Apple and Google, which are more familiar with software.
Apple and BMW were previously revealed to have held talks about a potential partnership, though it was said that the two parties were not close to an agreement.
In an exclusive report detailing Apple's automotive project last year, AppleInsider revealed "Titan" was operating out of a top secret facility close to the company's campus in Cupertino, Calif. Subsequent reports estimate Apple's stateside team now consists of well over 1,000 employees, including a number of high-profile industry hires. However, AppleInsider sources in February said executives were disappointed with the group's slow progress, prompting a temporary hiring freeze.
Comments
I look forward to getting into my Mercedes when I go to work. If I had a BMW, I'd suspect the same thing. The likes of BMW and Mercedes will still be around long after if/when Apple makes any thing that's a car. These brands pretty much invent almost all car tech that eventually becomes standard in all cars.
Plus, Mercedes already has a self driving fleet and is well advanced in research in this area.
It's not like all of a sudden everyone will buy a Apple car and everyone else will go out of business. Not even close.
I do hope Apple does come out with something as I'd be highly interested in what they have to offer but, for me, it Mercedes and Tesla.
I cannot imagine how software is going to "make rotating tires a thing of the past." People rotate their tires because after driving for a certain number of miles, the tires wear out. Instead of buying four brand-new tires, people get new tires for the wheels that are part of the drivetrain and move the worn out tires to the other two tires, e.g. if the car is front-wheel drive, people buy new tires for the two front wheels and move the worn out tires to the back. Rotating tires is due to mechanical wear and tear. There's no getting around that, unless one eliminates friction somehow.
True, EV have moving parts that will wear and that there will still things like alignments, but there is an order of a magnitude less number of parts in an EV. A long time ago, GM lobbied the US government to prevent the development of EVs precisely for this reason. They knew that vehicle maintenance was a huge market and didn't want to lose the money.
An ICE creates so much more heat and requires so many more parts, that they aren't even in the same space as EVs.
Using the braking energy to charge the battery will cause less energy to be dissipated into brakes, lengthening their life.
Most at if not all electric only cars have motors which directly drive the wheels. No transmission per se.
rotating tyres could be minimised particularly in 4wd cars by adjusting the torque sent to each wheel. I'd wager it would still have to be done but maintenance would be reduced.
http://www.electric-vehiclenews.com/2016/03/are-friction-brakes-redundant-on.html
You're right about moving parts creating wear and tear but there are so many fewer moving parts in a properly designed EV that service calls will go down. As for an alignment, it all depends on how the undercarriage has been designed and built and how good your suspension is.
You may not need any oil changes but maintenance free is a myth.
Um... No.
Totally different ball game.
Is there privacy creep in every iOS & MacOS update? Why don't people seem more concerned about this? I can preference all iCloud off save find my iPhone, yet if I turn that off & on, all data is again set to go to Apple ? 'Safari opens with: a new private window' setting in Safari is designed to override off links, such as from an email, linking data trails... Really?
How about all those fun little photos users can add to their contacts address book without the knowledge of the 'friends'...
Does the USSA (united surveillance state of america) need to contemplate beyond face value ?
No one needs my user data no matter how connected it is.
Soldier on Apple.
The Tesla drivetrain is a fixed ratio (single speed) gear reduction drive between the motor and the wheels. Two of them if you have the D model (dual motor). There are no gears, shifting, clutch or torque converter. So very simple in comparison to that multi-speed automatic in an ICE car.
There is NO mandatory scheduled maintenance on a Tesla at all. They encourage owners to have the car inspected annually, but it is not required to maintain the warranty. If you drive rationally, you rarely have to touch the brakes. The regenerative braking will bring the car to a complete stop with normal braking lead times by just taking your foot off the accelerator.
I do not think there have been any issues with sun roof, rattles or corrosion (the body is aluminum). The battery is warranted for 8 years, unlimited miles.
The only thing that some folks might consider high maintainence are the tires. They still roll down the pavement. The car is very heavy and very powerful. Those two things together = tire wear. Especially on the Performance models. Those 2.6 sec launches to 60 MPH, are hard on tires, even though the tesla never breaks traction nor leaves any visible rubber on the road (mine is not the P model).
But you are correct, totally maintenance free is a myth. But it is a tiny fraction of that required by most ICE cars. That is why the traditional manufacturers are struggling with selling EVs. The Car DEALERS live by their service departments. Why on earth would they be interested in selling something that has almost no maintenance required? Thus even if GM, Ford, or whoever, made the best EV ever conceived, it will be difficult to get the dealers to *try* to sell them.