For Apple fan boys, this news will surely make them jump from their seats!
Seems like Apple Inc. has taken its innovation strategy to the next level, they are now onto developing driverless cars similar to their rivals Google Inc. and NASA.
An iCar Concept on The Charts
It might be called the ‘iCar’ or the ‘iWheels’ since Apple is ‘i’ everything with their product names. Ever since Steve Jobs passed away, the company hasn’t really launched very path-breaking products as of yet; they only bettered their past products in a new avatar. But this news, carried out first by Wall Street Journal sets the bar really high for the Cupertino based electronics giant; going from consumer electronics to the consumer automobile segment is a huge leap!
Since very few details have been leaked out till now, thus we can say for sure that a driver-less autonomous car it will be for sure! Also, its design will be very different from car designs we see from other manufacturers since this is Apple – pioneers in design that enthrals its audience.
Tim Cook, the chief executive company, recently revealed in a statement to the media that, ‘There are some products that we’re working on currently and about which no one knows about or has spread rumours regarding them ’.
This statement is just enough to make Apple fan boys gloat with glee!
Apple iCar proposed interior
How Much Truth in the Speculation?
We will now look at the degree of truth in the WSJ report. To begin, the erstwhile leader of the company, Steve Jobs himself always wanted to add a unique car to Apple’s bevy of products. He was an ardent admirer of Porsche’s design and finesse. He revered their matchless performance and brand philosophy. It was one of Jobs’visionary ideas to create an automobile that supported their iconic logo on its grille.
- One of Apple’s board members, Mickey Drexler had said last year that, “If Steve Jobs were alive, he was surely going to design an iCar for Apple.” It’s good to know that one of his confidants, Tim Cook is living up to Job’s expectations from Apple before he passed away.
- If we scrutinize the list of recently hired employees by Apple, about 50 in key positions are from Tesla, a company pioneering in electric cars. Recently, a rumour was rife in the job market that the company is secretly recruiting the best people from around the world specializing in battery technology. After all, electric cars run on batteries alone!
- Apparently, Apple has created a new project, code-named the ‘Titan’ being led by Steve Zadesky, a former Ford engineer and an auto industry celeb in his own right. The project currently employs hundreds of people working on a new car project.
- Johann Jungwirth, the former head of Mercedes-Benz’s research and development division in Silicon Valley is also rumoured to be on the project list.
- Marc Newson, recently hired Apple exec., is a very well-known industrial designer having prowess in automobile technology and is a very close confidant of Apple’s chief design artist, Jonathan Ive.
Apple is slowly trailing Google in a race to pit heads against each other in this electric car race it seems. If Apple wants to keep its shares soaring, it needs to keep innovating on ideas like this to maintain its market position to have fair competition with Google or else, Google will win this race too like it is winning the iOS versus Android race in the market at the moment.
