Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. Legacy Archives

Apple courtroom testimony reveals it once considered making a car

Add as a preferred source on Google
Apple courtroom testimony reveals it once considered making a car
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Apple’s ongoing legal battle with Samsung is well underway with both electronics giants battling over copyright and patent infringements. But for those less interested in the litigation and courtroom drama — maybe even a spouting of “You can’t handle the truth” here and there — there have been some rather tasty morsels of information coming out of the California courtroom.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog reports that during his testimony last week — and aside from claims that the Korean electronics maker copied and stole Apple’s designs in creating their own smartphones — Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, revealed that prior to the company’s successful push into the smartphone and tablet industry, Apple had considered developing a camera or a car.

Recommended Videos

Specifics and details were not elaborated upon, but this isn’t the first we’ve heard of a possible “iCar.” Speaking a few months back at Fast Company’s Innovation Uncensored conference, J. Crew CEO and Apple board member Mickey Drexler hinted that the long-held rumors of the company’s possible foray into the automotive industry were true when he revealed that Steve Job’s “dream before he died was to design an iCar.”

As it stands any notion of an iCar, or iCamera for that matter, is pure speculation. We may never know exactly what an Apple car would look like or what technology or innovation it would have featured. Still, with recent comments from Schiller, and past comments from board members like Drexler, it appears that the iCar was at the very least a possibility and less of a myth than previously believed.

Amir Iliaifar
Former Associate Automotive Editor
Associate Automotive Section Editor for Digital Trends, Amir Iliaifar covers the ever increasing cross-section between tech…
Volkswagen’s smartest EVs are launching in China while the US and Europe wait
China-only models already have the software, charging, and driving technology VW’s Western cars are still waiting to receive
Volkswagen ID UNYX 08

Volkswagen’s newest EVs in China are making its American and European models look unusually conservative.

With Xpeng’s help, VW has introduced 800-volt charging and advanced urban driving assistance. The new VEGA technology package brings its locally developed vehicle platforms and CEA electronic architecture under one umbrella. Bloomberg reports that Volkswagen intends to update VEGA every three months. Western buyers can find pieces of that package, but not the whole thing in a Volkswagen.

Read more
BYD’s $12,000 Qin Plus DM-i shows how much US buyers are overpaying for their cars
A cheap commuter car that could take you from New York to Miami without refueling? Yes, please.
BYD Qin Plus DM-i feature

BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.

What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles. 

Read more
Apple edges out a win in the PC market’s worst quarter by stumbling less than everyone else
Apple basically has a bigger share of a shrinking pie.
Computer, Electronics, Laptop

Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.

PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?

Read more