Apple has delayed long-rumored plans to build its own electric cars, Bloomberg reports.
Citing “people with knowledge of the matter,” Bloomberg says Apple won’t release the iCar before 2026 at the earliest.
Rumors Outweigh Facts
Known internally as Project Titan, the Apple Car effort has been around since at least 2014. Rumors have leaked out frequently. Apple doesn’t confirm or deny them.
Bloomberg’s report contains some details about the rumored car. The wire service suggests the vehicle will carry a six-figure price tag. It will have assistance systems that let the driver “conduct other tasks — say, watch a movie or play a game — on a freeway and be alerted with ample time to switch over to manual control if they reach city streets or encounter inclement weather.”
Eased Self-Driving Ambitions
The automotive industry uses a five-level framework to describe automation technology. Level 1 systems can intervene briefly to help keep a driver safe, like automatic emergency braking systems that help brake a car to try to avoid hitting an object in the roadway. Level 5 systems are fully self-driving and don’t even have steering wheels or pedals.
Related: Self-Driving Cars — Everything You Need to Know
Earlier reports said Apple aimed to produce a Level 5 system. Bloomberg’s new report describes something closer to Level 3 — still a step above anything currently for sale.
Bloomberg claims the Apple Car will have a price tag “roughly the same price range as the entry-level version of the Model S from Tesla and the EQS from Mercedes-Benz.
But Bloomberg notes the car is “considered to be in the ‘pre-prototype’ stage.”
