Recently, there has been a rumor that Apple's first-generation autonomous driving chip for its car has been essentially completed, and this chip was developed by the Apple iPhone team, with plans to launch it in 2025. It is also reported that Apple's L5 level fully autonomous car is expected to be launched in 2025.
Apple's connection with the automotive industry can be traced back to 2013 when it proposed the iOS in the Car system (later renamed CarPlay), which can be embedded into the vehicle's infotainment system, supporting satellite navigation, call control, music control, and other functions. Brands such as BMW, Hyundai, Ferrari, Ford, and General Motors are compatible with this system.
In May 2018, there were reports that Apple was in talks with the German automotive giant Volkswagen, aiming to produce an autonomous employee shuttle based on the T6 Transporter commercial vehicle.
Although this plan eventually ended in failure, it also revealed Apple's strategic intention to enter the car manufacturing industry.
Since then, Apple has focused its "car" strategy on full autonomous driving technology. The completion of Apple's first-generation autonomous driving chip development means that the company has made a "milestone" achievement in the field of autonomous driving system research and development.
In the context of the automotive chip industry where "many heroes rise together," Apple's completion of autonomous driving chip development has its own advantages. Bai Rixin, General Manager of Chuangdao Investment Consulting, told reporters from China Electronics News that through the self-research of smartphone and computer processor chips, Apple has formed a complete system of chip development, which is not comparable to car manufacturers that are newly forming teams for autonomous driving chip development. However, Apple's entry into the automotive chip industry also has obvious disadvantages. Sun Zhuoyi, a senior analyst at the Integrated Circuit Industry Research Center of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, said that the lack of experience in vehicle manufacturing and mass production will be a significant shortcoming for Apple's automotive chips.
Currently, there are two types of hardware and software integration strategies for autonomous driving cars: one represented by Tesla, which adopts a fully self-research mode for chips, operating systems, autonomous driving algorithms, and autonomous driving cockpit controllers; and the other, which is the strategy chosen by most car brands, where car cockpit chips and autonomous driving chips come from different third-party product solutions. Bai Rixin said that autonomous control and software-hardware coordination are Apple's strategy for autonomous driving. Combined with the news that Apple's car's underlying autonomous driving system, processor chips, and new sensors have made progress, it is highly likely that Apple's car will also choose the "full self-research strategy," moving towards a fully self-researched direction for chips, operating systems, and autonomous driving algorithms.
It is understood that from 2017 to 2020, Apple has obtained more than 100 automotive patent technologies, covering autonomous driving, smart cockpits, charging, and other aspects. Among them, the proportion of Apple's intelligent driving system patents has increased from 22% in 2016 to 41% in 2019; the proportion of vehicle hardware innovation design patents has increased from 11% in 2016 to 37% in 2019. Sun Zhuoyi said that from Apple's layout of patent numbers, it can also be seen that it is striving to take the full self-research route.
If Apple's plan is successful, it will undoubtedly bring a shock to other autonomous driving car brands. The industry's exploration of autonomous driving cars is still in its early stages. If Apple can truly launch a L5 level fully autonomous car in 2025, then with the brand value that Apple possesses, it will bring a significant impact to car brands including Tesla, accelerating the intensification of competition in the field of autonomous driving cars.