There is already talk of the Titan project, the alleged electric and autonomous Apple car, for at least 4 years. Since then, what we have witnessed is an entry and exit of elements for the hypothetical and secret team that will be preparing the vehicle. In addition, the Cupertino company has already filed close to 250 patents for the automotive world.
After this time and after seeing some road tests, everything still looks like water vapor, as concrete data is not perceptible. Is there really a project for such an Apple car?
Is it really a car that Apple is "developing"?
Everyone knows that Apple has been working quietly with the intention to give a big boost to the automotive industry with the launch of an Apple Carbut I don't remember anyone ever counting the number of patents to show how many the company owns in space.
According to research conducted by Nikkei and an analysis company called Intellectual Property Landscape, the Apple has applied for and published 248 patents related to the automotive industry.
The investigation indicated that 2017 was a peak year in terms of the number of patents filed and approved, but this record could be broken. Akira Yamauchi, CEO of Intellectual Property Landscape, said that "if orders to be published in the future are included, the total for 2021 could be at the level of the record set in 2017".
Apple Car Concept (Images: Vanarama)
What types of car patents does Apple hold?
The patents are comprehensive and include some in the areas of self-driving and other software that powers vehicles. In addition, the patents cover a number of hardware elements, including those in the comfort area, such as seats and suspension.
The company also has patents in the area of automotive intelligence, such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology", which allows vehicles to connect to the Internet of Things and other vehicles. The report says that these specific patents potentially indicate " A big push from Apple to build its own platform and join a growing industry shift from just cars to global mobility."
Despite the company's continued growth in car-related patents, skepticism remains about whether Apple can deliver a car, as the company has never built anything this big.
Hiroto Suzuki, of consultancy Arthur D. Little Japan, said that "I wonder if [a Apple] will be able to guarantee safety when outsourcing the production of automobiles, which require more parts and higher levels of safety".
Other analysts said we can expect the company to announce the Apple car within a decade, so we still have a long time to wait.
While we wait, the company also appears to be pushing the next evolution of CarPlay and trying to entice other car manufacturers to adopt the platform.
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