Bloomberg says that Apple’s project to make an electric car has been pushed back again, this time until 2028. The project has been in the works for about ten years. Full self-driving (SAE Level 5) was originally planned, but it has been scaled back. Now, the automated system is only said to be able to do “Level 2+.” Level 2+ isn’t an official category, but it means that SAE Level 2 has better features. Apple has said that it plans to offer upgradeable SAE Level 4 self-driving in the future. Apple Inc. is good at making iPhones and iPads, but it looks like the computer giant is having trouble making an iCar. Apple’s car has been pushed back again In 2014, rumors started going around that Apple had big plans to make an electric car that could drive itself. Since then, about ten years later, no samples have been seen. If and when Apple chooses to make an electric car, it will look very different from what was first planned. A report from Bloomberg yesterday said that the Apple car’s release date has been pushed back and that production will not begin until at least 2028. A story from a few years ago in Reuters said that Apple planned to begin making the products in 2024. After a few years, another Bloomberg story said that production would not begin until 2026. Not able to drive as much Anonymous people who have “knowledge of the project,” as mentioned in the most recent Bloomberg story, say that Apple wants to limit how much self-driving cars can do. Sources say the company had first planned for a Level 5 system, which is a fully autonomous system, according to the expert group SAE International. According to earlier Bloomberg stories, Apple gave up on that plan because of limitations in the technology it had at the time. Instead, it went after SAE Level 4 capability, which would only allow it to drive itself on known roads. The move also meant that the Apple vehicle (also known as Project Titan) would no longer be considered a robotaxi, even though the company had said it wanted to add pedals and a steering wheel. It is now believed that the Apple car will have “Level 2+” autonomy at first, which is not a level recognized by SAE standards. It works like a lot of new cars on the market right now, but it’s not actually more powerful than an SAE Level 2 system. Apple wants its product to be similar to Tesla in some ways. It is making a car that stands out with its “sleek design, safety systems, and unique user interface.” The following sources were sent to Bloomberg. Bloomberg says that Apple still plans to back updating the car’s self-driving technology to Level 4 at some point after it is first used. Of course, the company should be focusing on making the EV instead of planning for future features.
