iPhone, iPad, iCar? Apple’s self-driving EV is still in play!

You may soon be able to walk into your local Apple store and drive away in a shiny new car as the latest insider leaks suggest that the tech industry titan is currently developing its very own EV, set to make its debut before the end of the decade.

Rumours of the so-called ‘Apple Car’ have been circulating for years, yet a recent report by Bloomberg says the iPhone maker’s first EV may arrive as soon as 2028 – although, this is still two years behind the initial projected release date.

It seems that the primary setback in the development of Apple’s first EV, dubbed ‘Project Titan’, is the integration of a full self-driving system. While the Apple Car was originally slated to be capable of Level 5 autonomous driving without any necessary driver input, leaks suggest that the so-called ‘iCar’ will instead use more rudimentary (but nonetheless still advanced) Level 2+ technology. This would make it slightly more advanced than the Autopilot system found in the Tesla Model Y, with the ability to keep the vehicle in lane and even change lanes with occasional help from the driver.

According to Bloomberg, Apple has recently drastically downscaled the project internally, saying: “Either the company is finally able to deliver this product with reduced expectations or top executives may seriously reconsider the project’s existence”.

So if and when the Apple Car does arrive, what can we expect? Well unlike many of the best cars coming soon, we haven’t seen any pre-production prototypes undergoing testing. However, in typical Apple fashion, you can expect the car to have a minimalist, yet premium design.

On the inside, it’s likely that the Apple Car will run a more in-depth and fully-integrated version of the brand’s CarPlay operating system. Owners could potentially be able to control many of the car’s functions remotely via an app on their iPhone and may even be able to unlock the car with their Apple Watch, negating the need for a physical key.

Of course, none of this will come cheap; Apple is already considered a ‘luxury’ brand, so given several EVs like the Tesla Model S already start from over £100,000 here in the UK, it’s not unreasonable to assume that Apple’s EV will cost six figures, too.