Apple Smart Car Delayed to 2028

The car robots are not on time.

Hey Everyone,

Apple car—one of the most-hyped and most mysterious automotive projects of the 21st century—is still in play, despite years of radio silence. 

When I think of a Machine Economy and our cities more automated with robots, I definitely do think smart transportation and smart autonomous cars are a big part of that picture.

Apple’s Project Titan has been the subject of rumors since at least the mid-2010s. The company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the initiative. Apple’s electric self-driving car project, ‘Project Titan’, has been really fun to follow since Apple is fairly good at being secretive.

If you follow Mark Gurman of Bloomberg you will be familiar with his insider insights (similar to The Information).

Bloomberg says Apple views the project’s downscaling internally as “a pivotal moment.” As they will now launch the product in 2028, instead of 2026, with considerably less autonomous than first hoped.

Still Apple’s CarPlay concept alone is ground-breaking for Apple’s ecosystem coming alive in the important spaces in-between our work and play. At Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in 2022, the tech company teased a version of Apple CarPlay that would take over every screen in a vehicle — infotainment, digital gauge cluster, passenger display, you name it.

Apple have invested so much into Project Titan in the last decade it should have a good product by the time it finally launches and given that it’s Apple, I think it will be popular too and generate a not insubstantial amount or revenue. Apple’s quality is of course legendary with integrations that might make even Tesla look amateur.

• After board meetings, car downgraded to Level 2+ autonomy

• Company pushes back launch from 2026 to 2028 at the earliest

Still Apple has to be realistic and launch a safe and grounded product. The car’s autonomous features have reportedly been downgraded from a Level 5 system (full automation) to a Level 4 system (full automation in some circumstances) — and now to a Level 2+ one (partial automation).