Skip to main content

Apple’s latest hire is another piece in the jigsaw for the Apple Car

Apple Car
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Now that we’ve all got over the fact that Apple is making and selling a smartwatch, the rumor mill needs a new product to focus on, and an Apple Car seems to be the most popular choice. We know the company is looking for locations to test some kind of automobile technology, other industry firms have hinted at Apple’s plans, and fans have been working on mock-ups of what the new vehicle might look like.

Now Reuters is reporting that Apple has poached a high-profile senior engineer from Tesla, another company making great strides in the 21st-century motor industry. Jamie Carlson has swapped Elon Musk for Tim Cook in the CEO stakes according to his LinkedIn profile, and given Carlson’s history it would seem to confirm that Apple has plans of some kind in this area. He worked on Tesla’s automated self-driving technologies and before that was busy developing “automotive vision systems” for Gentex Corp.

We seem to have reached the “no smoke without fire” stage for the iCar, but exactly what Apple has in the pipeline isn’t yet clear: It could be a brand new electric-powered motor vehicle that can drive itself, or it could be software and various bits of kit to add to your existing car to do the same job. Its CarPlay dashboard software is still in its early stages of development and is likely to play a role in anything else the Cupertino company has to show off as far as cars are concerned.

Reuters points out the other automobile experts Apple has recruited in recent months: Megan McClain from Volkswagen, Carnegie Mellon University researcher Vinay Palakkode, and Nvidia’s Xianqiao Tong, who develops computer vision software for driver assistance systems. With the likes of Google, Nissan, and Tesla developing autonomous technology at a rapid pace, Apple may feel it has no alternative but to get involved.

David Nield
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Dave is a freelance journalist from Manchester in the north-west of England. He's been writing about technology since the…
Volkswagen is launching its own self-driving car testing program in the U.S.
Volkswagen self-driving ID. Buzz in Austin

Volkswagen is taking autonomous driving a little more seriously. While the likes of Tesla and Waymo have largely led the development of next-gen driving tech, the legacy automakers are certainly starting to invest more heavily. To that end, Volkswagen has announced its first autonomous driving program in the U.S.

As part of the program, Volkswagen has outfitted 10 all-electric ID. Buzz vans with autonomous driving tech, in partnership with autonomous car tech company MobileEye. Over the next few years, Volkswagen says it'll grow this fleet of autonomous cars to cover at least four additional cities, with the current fleet operating in Austin, Texas. By 2026, Volkswagen hopes to commercially launch autonomous cars in Austin.

Read more
Autonomous cars confused by San Francisco’s fog
Waymo Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV

Driving in thick fog is a big enough challenge for humans, but it turns out self-driving cars find it pretty tricky, too.

Overwhelmed by dense fog in San Francisco early on Tuesday morning, five of Waymo’s fully driverless vehicles suddenly parked by the side of a residential street in what appeared to be a precautionary measure, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Another of its cars apparently came to halt in the middle of the street, the news outlet said.

Read more
GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay for EVs, go all-in on Android integration
Interior of the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV.

General Motors plans to stop using Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone connectivity in future EVs in favor of infotainment systems developed with Google based on the company's tech. First reported by Reuters, the move is surprising given the popularity of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which allow users to project content from smartphones onto a car's touchscreen, bypassing the native infotainment systems.

GM's decision to stop offering these systems on future EVs, starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV, could help the automaker capture more customer data, Reuters noted, providing insight into how vehicles are used. But it will likely be detrimental to the user experience, as customers will have to learn to use built-in infotainment systems, rather than the smartphone interfaces they're used to.

Read more