I do find it interesting that all of these analysts talk about upgrade cycles. If Apple chooses not to sell anyone a car, but make cars a service under their eco system, they then have total control of how long their cars stay on the road.
Design cars that can easily be stripped and recycled then Apple can choose how long they are on the road. Apple then also could ensure there are no crappy looking old Apple cars on the road. Like music, movies and so many other things, I see know reason that cars can not turn into a subscription service.
I think after their initial plunge into developing a self-driving car, Apple realized that the AI problem that self-driving technology presents is far more complex than what their competitors think.
I would liken it to nuclear fusion, where the basic scientific principle is so simple, and yet a million and one engineering and technological problems need to be solved in an economical way before the technology could be realized.
Conceptually, self driving tech is probably the same thing. It looks simple-- map your route, sense the environment, avoid collisions and delays. Obviously, just the simple problem of "Is that human going to suddenly, and against all self-preserving logic, cross the street?" is something that the industry hasn't solved. Though I bet they thought they had.
While Apple might still be on the fence whether they're all in ( I think they are all in but whatever) Waymo today showed it really is 100% committed with an order for 62,000 more autonomous vehicles. Sure better work out.
While Apple might still be on the fence whether they're all in ( I think they are all in but whatever) Waymo today showed it really is 100% committed with an order for 62,000 more autonomous vehicles. Sure better work out.
Also, Elon Musk numerous times has stated that by next year Tesla will have a sufficient amount of data acquired from their systems to enable fully autonomous vehicles by 2019 and they'll have a Tesla drive itself across the US to prove it.
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I would liken it to nuclear fusion, where the basic scientific principle is so simple, and yet a million and one engineering and technological problems need to be solved in an economical way before the technology could be realized.
Conceptually, self driving tech is probably the same thing. It looks simple-- map your route, sense the environment, avoid collisions and delays. Obviously, just the simple problem of "Is that human going to suddenly, and against all self-preserving logic, cross the street?" is something that the industry hasn't solved. Though I bet they thought they had.
http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/31/news/companies/gm-softbank-self-driving-cars/index.html
And they absolutely are aiming for self-driving 'taxis' by next year:
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2017/11/30/gm-launch-self-driving-vehicles-phoenix-other-u-s-cities-2019/910678001/
Also, Elon Musk numerous times has stated that by next year Tesla will have a sufficient amount of data acquired from their systems to enable fully autonomous vehicles by 2019 and they'll have a Tesla drive itself across the US to prove it.
2019 is the magic year for self-driving cars.
And what will we all be doing as the cars drive us around?: https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/2018/05/31/delaware-offer-spots-betting-starting-tuesday/660855002/