What you need to know
- A new report claims Apple is "looking into every detail" of what it takes to get a car onto the road.
- It isn't clear whether Apple actually wants to ship a car itself, or do something different.
Rumors of an Apple Car have been circulating for years now and a new report suggests that the company continues to dive into what it might take to put a car on the road, although it might not take the shape we might have expected.
A new Wall Street Journal report includes a quote from Peter Fintl, the director of technology and innovation for Capgemini Engineering Germany, that might perk a few ears up.
We have seen enough echoes in the supply chain that we know Apple is really looking into every detail of car engineering and car manufacturing. But nobody knows if what Apple creates will be a car or a tech platform or a mobility service.
Some suggest that Apple could do away with the idea of shipping its own car and instead choose to license its self-driving tech to third-party manufacturers. That very much goes against Apple's love of being in charge of every minute detail relating to a product, but sometimes needs must.
Another potential route is to put Apple-branded cars on the road as taxis. Those taxis would be built by someone else, but as a white-box product. That would mean Toyota could, as an example, build the cars but not have its logo anywhere to be seen.
At this point we know that Apple is working on something car-related. Now we just need to find out exactly what that might look like if and when it ships. You can still get a little bit of the Apple Car experience today though – check out our list of the best CarPlay receivers you can buy!
