Apple's frontman, Tim Cook, is hyping up the future of cars after he stated that the automotive industry is gearing up for a "massive change." Though he didn't specifically said Apple is the company to bring this change, he did give us an idea of what to expect from any possible Apple Car.
Cook talked about how current cars will be shaken to the very core, along with the constantly growing importance of software baked in motor vehicles. He also mentioned the rise of autonomous vehicles and the slow shift from internal combustion engines to electrification.
"It would seem like there will be massive change in that industry, massive change," according to Cook on Monday night at the Wall Street Journal's WSJDLive conference that took place at The Montage Resort in Laguna Beach, California. "You may not agree with that. That's what I think."
Cook, who was interviewed by no other than WSJ executive editor, Gerard Baker, played it safe and declined to talk about whether or not Apple is developing its own car for the future. Latest reports have claimed the Apple Car or the iCar, will take to the streets in 2019, but as of yet, we have seen little to prove this to be true.
For now, Cook says Apple is working on bringing the iPhone experience to the car via CarPlay. This is a short-term strategy, so we are itching to learn what the company is planning for the long-term.
What is CarPlay?
It's an Apple device that is designed to be situated on the dashboard of the car. Its goal is to deliver GPS direction via Apple Maps and to allow drivers to access their iTunes library without ever having to access their mobile phones. This could cause for fewer accidents, but hey, humans will always be humans.
We should point out that Apple in the past has hired several automotive engineers, some of whom are specialized in driver-less vehicles. Should the iPhone factory launch its own car, chances are it could be something along the lines of what Google is doing, with a little blend of what Telsa has done. After all, several employees from Telsa are now working for Apple.
