Apple's Project Titan, the tech giant's in-house program that aims to build a smart car, appears to be on a high-gear lately. In recent days, the project got a new top-level boss who supposedly will speed things up. Now, a self-driving chip is said to be in the development stage and it will serve as the brain of the upcoming Apple Car.
Reports from Asia claimed that Apple's supply chain partners are now working on a chip and other related components that will be used on a futuristic vehicle. Specifically, the Cupertino-based company has tapped TSMC to produce the essential part that will govern the functionalities of a car with autonomous driving features.
The Taiwan-based TSMC is the chief supplier of chips that Apple uses on iPhones and iPads. The report from DigiTimes indicated that the manufacturing firm will be a major actor in the program that will produce the Apple Car. And a key feature of the modern vehicle is the self-driving ability, which obviously is Apple's answer to Tesla.
Apple has yet to confirm that intends to produce a car that bears the company's name but according to MacRumors, work on the car is already underway. Picking up from the information shared by Ming-chi Kuo, an analyst known for his mostly accurate predictions on upcoming Apple products, the report suggested that an Apple Car is lined up for introduction between 2023 and 2025.
In relation to this, more players are expected to get involved with the project and there will be bigger news to come about the Apple Car starting in 2021.
However, the latest update seemed to contradict the recent reports of Apple refocusing Project Titan to work on the perfection of self-driving technology. The shift is thought to give more emphasis on the software side of a modern vehicle, meaning Apple is now more inclined to supply the software that will control the smart features of a car.
This adjustment appeared to be supported by Apple's decision to appoint John Giannandrea as head of the Project Titan. Giannandrea is concurrently chief of the company's AI and machine learning divisions and the decision to put in charge of Titan suggested a major course change for the project.
According to 9to5Mac, the leadership change seemed to confirm the earlier reports that Project Titan is focused momentarily on completing Apple's self-driving software. And the same technology will be supplied to automakers such as Lexus and Volkswagen, which in turn will allow Apple to delay the eventual target of assembling its own branded smart car.
