Apple iCar

Speculation has been rife as to the look of the Apple iCar and several designs has been circulating on the internet. Image via Facebook @Apple iCar

Apple gave us the iPhone, the iPad, the iMac…Get ready for the 2024 iCar

According to a new report, the Apple iCar concept could finally be coming to fruition in 2024.

Apple iCar

Speculation has been rife as to the look of the Apple iCar and several designs has been circulating on the internet. Image via Facebook @Apple iCar

Apple has long been rumored to be working on a car, even before everyone got excited about electric vehicles (EVs).

Reuters reported that the Apple car will start production in 2024 and will feature “next-level” battery technology.

The report doesn’t specify if Apple will build the vehicle itself or look to partners for the actual manufacturing of the EV, but it does say, citing “two people familiar with the effort”, that it’s going to be a personal, mass-market vehicle rather than a robotaxi or commercial vehicle.

Code name: Project Titan

Apple’s car plan, under the code name Project Titan, has been an open secret in the automobile and tech world since its inception in 2014.

Apple iCar
Image via Facebook @ Apple icar

The tech company snatched up vehicle engineers from Porsche, Tesla, and other automakers, including Alexander Hitzinger, who recently left the company and returned to the VW Group to head its own Project Artemis.

Apple is also rumored to be reaching out to sensor companies to help it add driver-assistance technology.

Now it seems the vehicle is back on track and will go into production, if Reuters’ unnamed sources are proved correct.

Of course, the date may be pushed to 2025 due to coronavirus delays.

As for actual production, Apple was reported to be speaking to Magna, which already has its own EV platform that it can use to build an electric vehicle for other companies.

Next-level’ battery technology

Powering the yet-to-be-announced vehicle will be Apple’s “monocell” design for batteries, according to Reuters.

The technology does away with pouches and modules and combines the individual cells in each battery. This could yield more capacity within the same space as a traditional battery-pack layout.

The tech company could also be looking at different chemistries for its batteries.

Some netizens though, remain skeptical.

With its ability to wield power in the manufacturing world thanks to the iPhone, Apple could potentially hit the ground running in a way other automotive startups might not be able to accomplish.

Still, building cars is chalenging, and this would be Apple’s first.

That’s if the company sticks with this plan. If not, it could be another couple of years of a rumored Apple Car without anything actually rolling down the street.