Is Apple really building an iCar?

So, is Apple really planning to take on Tesla motors with an electric car of their own? Seems like it! There have been rumours that Apple could very well be making their own car… How does the iCar sound to you?

There has been a lot of talk and speculation surrounding Apple and its plans to jump into the car industry, some say the “iCar” may be under development already. However, don’t get too excited because there has been no confirmation that this is true and it could just be a rumour. But, perhaps Apple does plan on challenging Tesla with its first electric car.

If you don’t know already, Apple has already edged there way slowly into the automobile industry with the Apple CarPlay, the dashboard-based entertainment system, but who knows if they are making their own car! First of all they have no previous experience in making them, but if Google can do it, then why not Apple.

Is Apple really building a car? Maybe they are! And it would be fun to just assume that yes they are and start the speculation rolling, but the truth is, it’s very unclear.

However, speculation is fun! So what is the Apple car going to be like?

The Apple iCar will obviously be a vehicle that will be able to drive and navigate by itself. According to a news source it will be so intensely advanced that it will squash our expectations of the features we have come to expect.

Apple seems to have a habit of overhyping some of their features that are actually just normal industry standard, like that fact that Apple’s iCar’s windshield will have enough pixels to outdo reality itself!

The American news source – The Onion – paints a funny picture for us by saying that every gear shift will need an iCloud login and that Apple will probably make its own brand of gasoline for the iCar. Let’s take a look at some of the other “amazing” features…

- Full vertical integration with Apple gasoline
- Compatible with most major roads
- Recommends new driving speeds based on user’s past favourites
- Sleek, unobtrusive airbags
- Cup holder
- Windshield cracks easily, though the car will work fine afterwards
- Wheels turn into rainbow pinwheels whenever the car stalls
- Lightweight but powerful enough to careen across six lanes of traffic and through guardrails of overpass.
- Comes with a couple of cool Apple stickers

The iCar isn't a reality yet, so what is Apple doing with cars currently (that we know is not just a speculation)? Apple has been rolling out something called CarPlay, the main idea of CarPlay is that you will dock your iPhone inside your car, letting its processor and mobile data connections take over your car’s display and other functions.

With CarPlay you can actually use Siri and Apple Maps to verbally ask your car for directions or to find nearby restaurants! You also have the option to play music or make phone calls.

The thing is the basic capabilities of CarPlay are very familiar to most people who own newish model cars, which feature many of the same kinds of navigation functions, although without the voice control. The main issue with CarPlay is that it has not yet set the consumer world on fire, mainly because its only available on a few models of new cars and most people aren't driving around in brand new cars.

Back to the Apple iCar. Of course it is possible the iCar will never actually make it out of the garage, but the fact that Apple is thinking of the idea has many people revving their engines with excitement.

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Written By: Christine Romans
CopyWriter at The Computer Guyz Cape Town