Is Apple's Next Product An Electric Car?

The makers of products such as the iPhone 6S, iPad Pro, MacBook and Apple TV and Apple CarPlay, have been rumoured to be producing a full-fledged road-going automobile, but Apple itself has yet to confirm anything.

However, judging by the numerous rumours and reports, this is what we know so far:

- An initial version of the Apple car will not be self-driving, with officials reportedly confirming that autonomous technology will come later down the line. 

- The oft-leaked electric vehicle – supposedly developed under the codename "Project Titan" – is now tipped for either a 2019 or 2020 launch.

- Apple is developing the new car in Berlin, alongside a team of 15-20 "progressive thinkers" – according to German media.

- Apple is reportedly increasing its car operation technology (CarPlay, so far), with sources suggesting early prototypes of its car will be all-electric, autonomous and resemble a minivan aesthetic.

- Apple has reportedly recently appointed British car designer who worked at Aston Martin until he left in 2013 to become the vice-president of vehicle engineering at Tesla Motors, Chris Porritt.

- Judging by Apple's current high-price-tag products, Jefferies and Co have estimated the rumoured Apple Car to cost around £36,000.

- Apple is said to have hundreds of employees working on creating an electric vehicle at an unknown location near its Cupertino headquarters, in California, USA.

- Apple has been said to have spoken with officials regarding vehicle regulations suggesting an Apple Car is more likely than not.

- There is rumoured possibility of Apple teaming up with an already established carmaker, following Tim Cook's recent visit to BMW (any plans to team up with BMW have, again, been said to have fallen through).

- Back in December 2015, Apple bought three automotive-related domains (apple.car, apple.cars and apple.auto), which could well be related to Apple's CarPlay technology, or not…

As we said, it's all very speculative, but Apple's interest in a car dates back to before even the iPhone came out, so there must be something in it, right? 

So, in short, the answer to our opening question is we don't know, but rumours rarely come out of nowhere and for this to be the biggest talk at the moment surrounding Apple and their future plans – it could all well be true.

Source: Is Apple's Next Product An Electric Car?