According to recent statements, tech giant Apple may be planning a partnership with South Korean manufacturer Hyundai to build its long-awaited electric car. Read on to find out all the details.
Is the long rumored Apple Car finally coming?
A wave of patents suggests the California tech giant is taking it more seriously to make it a reality – and these exclusive renders show what it might look like.
Apple Car Exterior Screens
Apple products these days are typically little more than a slice of the screen, and that wouldn’t change for what his car looks like.
This Apple-filed patent suggests that even the exterior body would function as a screen showing graphics like the vehicle’s speed and warning signals.
It’s even suggested that you can use it to customize the look of the car – like slapping some cute hot rod flames on it.
Autonomous technology from Apple Car
It looks like the Apple Car uses proprietary technology for every autonomous driver assistance system.
The company previously hired engineers from other auto companies like Mercedes and Tesla to work on this technology, so there is some serious intelligence behind it.
This patent suggests that Apple would use LiDAR technology with hidden reflectors throughout the car, meaning no ugly sensor boxes spoil the sleek design.
Apple auto climate control
Even the air conditioning could work differently in the Apple Car. This patent shows sensors that can adjust the temperature according to your body temperature.
That would work with this glass technology that can self-darken to regulate the heat entering the cabin. It’s handy on the California coast – maybe less so in Cheltenham.
Driving with Apple Car Gesture Control
Here’s something strange for you – driving without a steering wheel. This patent for the Apple Car suggests that it could be controlled with hand gestures. Serious.
It would be a bit like playing Mario Kart on the Nintendo Wii. Throwing banana peels on cars behind you is probably not advisable, however.
Charging Apple Car
For this patent to go through, you wouldn’t even have to plug in your Apple Car – it could do it itself. All you have to do is pull up to the charger and let the car do the work.
Apple even has patented technology that can charge cars and even share electricity on the go. There is potential to license this technology to other automakers.
Apple car production
Will an Apple Car ever go into production? This question has been asked a lot over the past decade.
Apple will want to make sure the car doesn’t fail, and now has a case study in the form of Dyson to show that turning a tech giant into an automaker isn’t easy.
Dyson put its canned EV project in 2019, saying it couldn’t be made commercially viable.
That said, Foxconn – which builds Apple’s iPhone – recently launched its own car line. Apple could rely on them to build, or, more likely, out-license some of its patents to the company.
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