Apple’s Car project may be gone, but the vision for turning cars into a platform remains. … [+]
Ever since I first heard that Apple was working on a car, I kept saying it would never happen. Over the years, we’ve heard bits and pieces about Apple’s development that suggested that the company actually makes cars. But even with these rumors, I believed that Apple would never bring an Apple-branded car to market.
As someone who has covered Apple for over 40 years, I believe that even if Apple partners with major automakers for retail sales potential, building actual cars is not in Apple’s DNA. was confident.
But when I was asked about the Apple car in many interviews with the media, I believed that the real vision for the car project was to see it as a vehicle (pun intended) for delivering apps and services. .
I once interviewed a major technology company executive who helped me see the future of technology.
In 1995, I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Akio Morita, who had just retired from his position as president of Sony. I asked him why Sony bought Columbia Pictures in 1989.
Sony is a hardware company and for many of us this was incomprehensible. But Morita took a futuristic view, saying the movie is “just software” that can be played on Sony hardware. Of course he was right. All movies are now digital and available for viewing on numerous hardware devices.
Steve Jobs was a big fan of Morita and sought his advice even before returning to Apple in 1997. Indeed, Morita’s hardware as a means of distributing software helped Jobs formulate his and Apple’s vision for how software and hardware should come together. They are married at the hip and are essential to Apple’s success.
When Jobs returned to Apple, I asked him about his vision for hardware. He corrected me and made it clear that hardware and software are central to his quest to turn Apple around.
In my last column, I wrote about Lenovo’s decision to start working on a car project that in some ways mirrors Apple’s original vision.
“Lenovo sees the car as a new computing platform. They are not interested in building smart cars, but rather a full stack of computing capabilities that will make cars smarter and, in the future, self-driving. We are interested in becoming a major provider that can provide
Lenovo officials pointed out that the car is just a computing platform. Lenovo is the number one computer vendor and knows how to build computers, so the vehicle is seen as a way to bring its world-class expertise in building computers to cars in the future.
I believe that Apple’s automotive efforts were primarily research efforts rather than traditional automotive projects. The company focused on developing a comprehensive computing framework needed for smart vehicles. However, as is widely known, Apple’s Car project has been canceled. I am confident that the insights gained from this research will contribute to realizing what I see as the true vision of the vehicle: transforming the vehicle into a platform that provides enhanced software, content, and services. .
If your car currently has Apple CarPlay, you know that Apple has already expanded its apps and services to millions of vehicles. But Apple discovered a number of new features from its car project that could eventually be delivered through CarPlay. This could include adding AR capabilities to Apple Maps and Siri, as well as integrating AI through AI developer kits for third-party apps.
Apple has officially canceled its car project, but we’re sure Apple won’t waste billions of dollars in research money. This effort will apply to their true vision of making cars a vehicle for Apple’s apps, services, and future features, and bringing more people into the Apple ecosystem.
Disclosure: Apple and Lenovo, like many other tech companies around the world, subscribe to Creative Strategies’ research reports.
