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Apple may finally get their long-held plans in gear.
Apple has dipped their toes into the electric vehicle game at varying depths over the last six years or so. Ever since the advent of Project Titan, Apple’s official electric vehicle pursuit, they’ve been trying to design and build their very own battery-powered, self-driving car, but have repeatedly been forced back to the drawing board. According to an inside report from Reuters, however, it seems that Apple may finally have some concrete plans in the works.
According to Retuers’ report, several anonymous Apple insiders have confirmed that Project Titan’s plan to construct a consumer-grade autonomous electric vehicle could begin in earnest as early as 2024. Supposedly, Apple’s secret weapon in this endeavor in a newly developed type of monocell battery composed of lithium iron phosphate, or “LFP.” An LFP battery, in addition to being more resistant to overheating, doesn’t use any cobalt in its composition. This could be huge for global battery production, as more than half of the world’s cobalt supply comes from a single spot: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose infamous mines are known to employ child labor.
Aside from the new battery, the Titan car is rumored to employ an array of LiDAR sensors to scan its surroundings and drive safely. Besides being an obvious necessity for safety, these sensors could be sourced from Apple’s own iPhone 12 line, which would help to keep internal construction costs down.
I'm looking forward to the #Apple self-drive car. It'll be unnecessarily expensive, made in China and the charging connector will change every couple of years. . . #ProjectTitanhttps://t.co/tZxycYBbVq
— The Fishgod (@thefishgod) December 22, 2020
Speaking of construction, it’s assumed that Apple will need to contract outside help when it comes to actually manufacturing cars. This could prove to be the project’s Achilles Heel, as pandemic-induced delays and interruptions in vehicle manufacturing could make securing a viable contract more difficult. If things fall off track, Apple could decide to pull away from the project before it gets going for real.
However Apple goes about making this happen, you can probably bet that the final product will be bright white, really smooth, and cost a lot.
