Apple's electric car plan failed? It has opened up a bigger layout

(Original title: Apple's electric car program failed? It has opened a larger layout)

Apple's Project Titan seems to be no different from failure in many people. After all, from the initial creation of a car to the development of automatic driving software, the gap is a bit large. However, people now think that Project Titan's plan change is actually a bigger opportunity. Apple can build more in the future than a car.

Apple's automatic driving ambition

Although the official has not confirmed it from beginning to end, we all know that Apple's Project Titan has not progressed smoothly. It was originally intended to build an electric self-driving car from scratch. Perhaps it was the unbearable difficulties experienced by the technology companies in transforming machinery manufacturing. In the end, the large team of 1,000 people was almost completely dissolved, leaving only the only part left behind to develop automatic driving software.

At least this compromised new plan has yielded results. This year we have been able to see Apple's proposal to the relevant departments in California to show that it is paying attention to self-driving cars and hope that the relevant regulations will be more conducive to the deployment of self-driving cars.

Just at the end of last month, a Lexus RX450h car was taken out of Apple's factory. The roof of the car was equipped with a large number of radar sensors and cameras. Needless to say, this is a self-driving car used for on-road testing. Even if Apple likes to keep secrets, auto-driving cars must also pass this test, so the existence of Project Titan is basically certain.

But no matter how to say, the status quo of Project Titan will surely make fans feel sorry for it. After all, we seem to have had the opportunity to see Apple's cool car. Now we can only see it in the software of the old manufacturers. Logo. In other words, Apple can't control everything and can only be responsible for the software part. This compromises too much.

But if we say that Project Titan's connotation is actually far more than a real car, does Apple itself not build a car, but it will be the beginning of another grand layout?

New theory

Steven Milunovich, a well-known analyst at UBS, recently invited two other equally independent analysts, Horace Dediu (from website Asymco) and Neil. Neil Cybart (from Above Avalon), three people had a discussion around Project Titan.

Finally, they came to the conclusion that "Project Titan is more like a transportation platform - not a car but an entire experience."

The opinions of the three analysts were corroborated elsewhere: Some sources said that Apple had established a secret office in Berlin, Germany, mainly to study the direction of transportation. The engineers there are all from various car manufacturers, and some of them are responsible for the planning of mapping technology.

In addition, according to Bloomberg News quoted an informant who had participated in an Apple related conference, Bob Mansfield, head of the Apple Automobile Program, stated at the meeting that he judged that Apple should not establish a direct relationship with Tesla. The competitive relationship, so the plan will be transformed to create a "autopilot platform."

Of course, according to Apple's personality and the caliber it deserves as a technology giant, even if it has decided not to manufacture the car itself, the remaining auto-driving software development plan should not be just a piece of software, but It should be expanded as much as possible to create more value. If Apple wants to build more than just "software" but "platform", then the whole meaning of this may not be the same.

Larger layout

Today, whether it is IT or medical care, Apple has been operating for a long time, but there is a market whose potential value is greater than they are, that is, transport traffic. Analysts said that this market has a size of 5 trillion US dollars. If the definition of "transportation traffic" is more broad, it can even amount to 15 trillion US dollars.

As human productivity continues to increase and people’s spending power continues to increase, the market for transportation and transportation itself is extremely demanding, large-scale, and has strong growth potential. In the future, this market will certainly continue to expand.

Even if it is only 5 trillion US dollars, this market is still quite large and it is undoubtedly important for Apple. Today's Apples are in urgent need of new and growing businesses to deal with the inevitable gradual saturation of the smart device market. For Apple's volume companies, the new market must be large enough, otherwise it will not be able to achieve significant growth. Apple Watch is now the dominant player in the smartwatch market, but its impact on Apple’s overall revenue is still very small. This is the best example.

Analysts predict that, with the continued popularity of auto-driving cars and the continuous evolution of technology, people tend to buy cars less and less, and instead use smaller, more comfortable unmanned vehicles. Compared to the kind of fatigue and instability caused by traditional vehicles, driverless cars after the technology is mature will be safer. Because there is no need for a driver, there is no need for a traditional car interior layout. The interior of the car can be used as a space that is more suitable for rest and recreation so that all people can enjoy the ease and happiness of the journey.

So who will provide these experiences? It can be anyone, and of course it could be Apple. Apple does not need to really make every one of these cars. It just needs to use these cars as platforms to carry the software and content it provides. When Apple took up most of this kind of automated driving transport market, it gained more room for growth.

Apple's Autopilot Empire

Imagine that when the future of automatic driving and even unmanned driving is no longer a novel concept, we need to have a bit of entertainment when we sit in the car, whether it is traveling or anything else. At this time, we may find that both the artificial intelligence that drives the car and the system that the entertainment equipment in the car carries are all provided by Apple.

Furthermore, in order to make the environment in the car more comfortable, smart home systems are also used. Lighting, air conditioning, and window conditioning all require smart home systems to coordinate. This whole system, Apple already has HomeKit, is not a problem at all.

So many large factories have already begun to force in the field of automatic driving. It is difficult to say whether Apple will be the final winner, but it has this strength, and many of the preparations are already done or are already done. The conditions that stand out in the future competition.

Of course, we may have 10 or more years away from this future, but in the end we can wait to get it. In any case, the ultimate benefit is definitely the consumer himself. At that time, it will be Apple products that surround us. We may as well wait patiently.

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