A paywalled DigiTimes report has claimed that the long-anticipated ‘Apple Car’ will feature a centrally integrated operating system (OS) not unlike the software used in Tesla vehicles, as well as self-driving sensors made in Korea.
The report stated: “Apple’s electric car, the Apple Car, will adopt a centrally integrated operating system (OS) like Tesla, and The Korean factory will assist in the development of the self-driving sensor part of the Domain Control Unit (DCU).”
For many people, the suggestion of an integrated operating system for the Apple Car will doubtless conjure up associations with the iOS and iPadOS platforms, not to mention CarPlay, the Apple standard that allows for a car radio or head unit to act as a display and a controller for an iOS device.
The Cupertino firm’s track record in blending hardware and software so successfully that the two elements feel nigh-on inseparable, will leave many observers confident about the prospects for an Apple Car incorporating a ‘CarOS’.
By comparison, Tesla’s vehicles use a custom version of Linux aided by an Intel Atom processor, and the central control unit takes care of navigation and entertainment. With the heavily rumored Apple Car expected to present an obvious alternative to Tesla in the sense of being an electric vehicle with autonomous driving capability, it wouldn’t surprise us if the Cupertino firm developed an operating system that exerts a similar level of control over the whole experience.
However, it was only last month when the noted analyst of Apple developments, Ming-Chi Kuo, said that the project team for the Apple Car had been “dissolved for some time.” He suggested that Apple had some reorganization work to do if it still aspired to get the vehicle into mass production by 2025.
The Apple Car project team has been dissolved for some time. The reorganization within the next three to six months is necessary to achieve the goal of mass production by 2025.
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) March 15, 2022
