New Apple Car rumor suggests debut in 2026 for less than $100,000

A car with an Apple logo

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AppleCar is one long awaited project for observers of the iPhone maker, since it is a product that Apple has sent to the next trillion in value. However, it looks like there may be a longer wait before anyone can buy a car from the company, with Apple making some changes to the project as a whole.

According to people familiar with Apple’s secret project, speaking Bloombergit has been stuck for several months, with executives struggling with the concept of a steeringless vehicle that works with currently available technologies.

Instead of a fully self-driving system, Apple is now planning a car design that is more conventional, complete with steering wheel and pedals. Fully autonomous driving will still be available, but only on highways, the sources say.

Earlier, Apple wanted to offer a vehicle with “Level 5” autonomy, which is a vehicle that could drive on any road that can be driven by humans. It would effectively allow passengers to specify a destination and get there without much further input, such as an automated taxi.

Such a degree of autonomy would allow a room-on-wheels approach to become a reality, in that users would not necessarily be behind the wheel with readily usable and readily available controls.

Under the new plans, drivers will still be able to perform other tasks, such as watching a movie or working, while the car is cruising down the highway on its own. Drivers can then be warned in advance when they need to switch to manual driving, in sudden bad weather or when they are near densely populated areas.

In addition to a change in timetable, Apple is also apparently changing its pricing plans. Initially, Apple expected to sell the Apple Car for more than $120,000, but it is now believed that Apple intends to cost consumers less than $100,000.

This would put the Apple Car in the same price range as a current entry-level Tesla Model S.

Aside from a possible launch in 2026, Apple is said to still be working on the design in a “pre-prototype” stage, sources say. According to the development timeline, design could be completed by the end of 2024, with extensive testing in 2025.

Reports in late 2021 said Apple was aiming for a 2025 edition.

Currently, the Apple Car’s on-board computer, titled Denali, has a processor with about four times the performance of Apple’s advanced Mac chip, one still being developed by the silicon engineering group. That chip is believed to have reached an advanced stage of development and is almost ready for production, although it may still be downsized before the car is released.

The system also uses LiDAR and radar sensors, as well as cameras, to see the road and its surroundings. This system is complemented by a cloud-based system hosted on Amazon Web Services, at a cost of approximately $125 million per year.

Apple would also spend about $1 billion a year on the Apple Car in its current state.

Despite quite a few years of development, Apple’s interest in the project has shifted from time to time. After years of relative calm, it is reported regained focus in September, working to rebuild the project team by the end of 2022.

This included some high-profile hires, including one veteran Lamborghini manager in July, and an expert in safety engineering from Ford in May. It’s also had its fair share of departures, including a technician who left Apple six months later join the project, and in September 2021, Ford poached the project leader Doug field.

Meanwhile, the existing team reportedly faced its own setbacks, including repeatedly need to prove the dignity of the project for management. There were claims that “constantly shifting targets” caused problems in a July report on the project, as well as a “revolving door of leaders” that furthered uncertainty in the operation.