Apple iCar -- Your Thoughs?

[Bond007]

If Apple were really that great they would control more of the cell phone market than they do. 80% of the cell phones are Android. Looks like hype to me.

Quoting Cathy Woods from Arc investments. Apple having the first mover advantage in the smartphone segment, they generate the bulk of the profits, and hopefully Tesla will do the same in the EV market.


Apple controls software and Hardware and there are targeting only the premium segment (not particularly the low end mass market). Same is not true of Android. They only control the software. The hardware (and associated profits) are shared by a variety of other manufacturers. So its not a simple calculation as to who has more market share. Android wins easily there, but there are caveats. I don't particularly care as to which is better since I like both.

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[Crissa]

Google doesn't even control Android, as what you end up in your pocket is a mangled mess of their design.

But it is cheaper and has specific options Apple avoids.

-Crissa

 

[drscot]

These articles are written terribly. I'm pretty sure Tesla's stock didn't shift. And these aren't new things, Apple changed around their car plans again weeks ago.

-Crissa

Basically, these are unfounded rumors. Yes, Apple is working with cars, but it has no manufacture for batteries, so how could it happen like these news articles breathlessly describe?

Apple Car, huh? How many of you have had perfectly functioning Apple devices sent to the scrapheap of functionality just because Apple decided you needed to buy a new upgraded version whether you wanted one or could afford one or not? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Apple has good products, but they change them into lemons in a heartbeat and at their whim. Also, made in China lacks desirability. One phone had to be replaced twice due to faulty manufacturing. Another replaced once. Is there any truth to the reports of Chinese Tesla clones being produced now? They definitely would not be apples to apples!

 

[TruckElectric]

Also, made in China lacks desirability.

Tesla has a factory in Shanghai which makes those Tesla's "Made in China".

Is there any truth to the reports of Chinese Tesla clones being produced now?

Xpeng may have stolen some of Tesla's IP.

 

[Cyberman]

There are bound to be "Made in China" CT's, since the plan is to sell the CT in China, right? (somebody had to say it)

 

[Crissa]

How many of you have had perfectly functioning Apple devices sent to the scrapheap of functionality just because ...

Zero. I have a 2013 Air running current macOS. I have a 2006 Intel iMac that's the media transfer station. I have a 2002 iBook that I upgraded to have an SSD.

The current OS would never run on the older devices. They don't have the bandwidth or system calls. Apple devices last longer and are supported longer than their competition. And have a much higher resale value.

-Crissa

 

[Bond007]

Zero. I have a 2013 Air running current macOS. I have a 2006 Intel iMac that's the media transfer station. I have a 2002 iBook that I upgraded to have an SSD.

The current OS would never run on the older devices. They don't have the bandwidth or system calls. Apple devices last longer and are supported longer than their competition. And have a much higher resale value.

-Crissa

I tend to agree with this. I 've had five Windows PCs fail on me (became permanently unusable) five times within a few years after purchasing; both software and hardware (one laptop and my current Dell desktop failed immediately after purchase and had to be returned), but the MacBook pro I've had is in its tenth year, and Air is in its 8th year (both working reasonably well). Yes, these are ancient devices, but serve my needs well. I bought the windows desktop only because my kid needed that for schoolwork. Our iPhones however didn't share that longevity and between us two have failed in six years and needed replacement.

 

[Crissa]

Our iPhones however didn't share that longevity and between us two have failed in six years and needed replacement.

The expected life of a phone is 18 months, with most being abandonware at that point.

Unless you have an iPhone.

I hold onto my Android until it's completely unusuable, and I'm on my third in ten years. The current one is starting to stutter really bad at times.

-Crissa

 

[azjohn]

I have an I Phone XR and its about 18 months old and still going strong, only issue is when I plug the phone into a computer it wont sync to I Tunes. A google search, deleting and reinstalling Itunes was not helpful

My wife has an XS and hers not so much but she has a lot of apps installed on hers, a lot more than mine. We both have plenty of memory on both phones ( 256MB)

In the back of my mind I still think Apple is sketchy and wouldnt be surprised if with updates they make older phones have issues

My wife will be going to an Android phone for her next phone, she absolutely hates the customer service with Apple and would rather deal with Verizon

 

[Crissa]

Verizon won't help you with Android problems just as Apple can't help you with network problems.

Lots of reasons a phone won't sync with a PC. My Android phone won't, because it handshakes too slowly. Very dumb. Apple phones have pretty tight security, and everything has to go right for it to work.

-Crissa

 

[TruckElectric]

I really liked Palm OS. My first smartphone was a Kyocera 6035

My next one was a Treo 600 or 650 not sure which, I still have it.

Then I got a Blackberry 8330. It got run over by a car.

Next was HTC EVO. Dropped it and shattered the screen.

Then a Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Then went to iPhone 6 and currently have an iPhone 8+ and a Samsung Galaxy S9+

No problems with either current phones. I prefer the iPhone because of my MacBook Pro integration(love the Air Drop) but I like my S9+ as well. Both good phones IMO.

 

[myco.rrhizae]

There is far more demand for electric vehicles than Tesla can provide alone so thank goodness if other compitent companies are going to enter the market!

 

[myco.rrhizae]

So here's the thing. Everyone wants to know what an Apple car will be like because they were so successful with the iPod and iPhone. But both of those products broke into markets that were in horrible disarray with no clear leadership in technology.

The Apple car discussion seems to revolve around the idea of them producing a conventional car, but it seems fairly obvious to me that Apple is positioning itself for an iPhone moment by revealing the first purpose-built, mass production robotaxi. Of course, they will be redefining what a taxi experience is - a media consumption experience for productivity, entertainment and well-being that operates natively with the rest of your apple ecosystem.

As in the case of smartphones having already existed when they revealed the iPhone, so do autonomous electric vehicles today. And even Zoox has already revealed a stream-lined, fully driverless vehicle. But small cap projects like that wont keep Apple from pulling the ol' Apple invented the robotaxi card.

I think they will be sticking to tramnsportstion as a service and not offering the cars for sale. Cars are insanely dififcult to produce at scale with a high standard of quality and any kind of profit margin. But a car can cost half a million dollars to produce and still turn a profit as a robotaxi.

 

[drscot]

Zero. I have a 2013 Air running current macOS. I have a 2006 Intel iMac that's the media transfer station. I have a 2002 iBook that I upgraded to have an SSD.

The current OS would never run on the older devices. They don't have the bandwidth or system calls. Apple devices last longer and are supported longer than their competition. And have a much higher resale value.

-Crissa

Apple tells us when they no longer support a device, like iPhone 5, 6. My carrier told me the specific problems I would have as well as of a specific date because of Apple's shenanigans. I was perfectly happy with my iPhone 5 SE. Now I have to use it as a Roku Remote. I also have a 6 with limited functionality. I would fear that an Apple car would have major components with similar built in obsolescence. Apple didn't even do my phones on the sly. They just did it. My 2011 iMac developed some bluetooth issues. Per Apple it was a "vintage" iMac and needed to be replaced. I was stuck. Bought another one. Still paying on it. I'll never go Android but I'm not happy with that aspect of Apple. My Lady had a Samsung Galaxy S5 (a decrepit old geezer of a phone, then on S20) that functioned fine in Ukraine. I upgraded her to be on the safe side. No built-in obsolescence there it seems.

 

[rr6013]

My carrier told me the specific problems I would have as well as of a specific date because of Apple's shenanigans

T-mobile straight away told me my iPhone was too old to work. I was slowww as a hotspot and the cellphone woud suddenly drop its microphone out of the mix.

I’m now in Panama on 3G and 4G in the cities. The iPhone works flawlessly. The hotspot feeds data to my iPad Air 3rd Gen 10X faster than T-mobile ever.

The US carriers have its customers over a barrel and its branded. aThis iPhone 4s will probably last another 4yrs.