Nearly three years ago, the Project Titan initiative went from building an Apple-branded electric vehicle to the creation of an autonomous driving system, but a new report out of Germany on Thursday alleges that Apple could instead be building an electric-powered van.
Apple this week reportedly laid off more than two-hundred employees from its stealthy autonomous vehicle group, dubbed Project Titan.
Other employees who were impacted by the project's restructuring are staying at Apple, but moving to different parts of the company.
According to people familiar with Apple's motives who spoke with CNBC, the layoffs were internally billed "as a kind of restructuring under the relatively new leadership."
A spokesperson for the California firm was quoted as saying:
We have an incredibly talented team working on autonomous systems and associated technologies at Apple. As the team focuses their work on several key areas for 2019, some groups are being moved to projects in other parts of the company, where they will support machine learning and other initiatives, across all of Apple.
We continue to believe there is a huge opportunity with autonomous systems, that Apple has unique capabilities to contribute, and that this is the most ambitious machine learning project ever.
"The most ambitious machine learning project ever" could not be a more apt description of any autonomous driving project, really.
Apple last August hired Doug Field, Tesla's engineering vice president, to lead the Project Titan team alongside Apple's former un-retired hardware chief Bob Mansfield.
Although investors have burned billions of dollars on autonomous driving startups and companies like Tesla, Uber, Waymo and Cruise, the technology just isn't there yet.
In 2016, Project Titan shifted focus from electric cars to autonomous driving systems, but fruits of those efforts have yet to materialize as details of what Apple's up to are hazy.
What do you think about Project Titan?
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The popular GasBuddy app is causing problems for some iPhone users. In a memo to employees, Apple says it's working with the app developer to get the issue resolved. In the meantime, the app has been pulled from the App Store.Â
Apple has expanded its fleet of vehicles available for self-driving testing in recent months. In California, it now has the third largest fleet. What Apple plans on doing after this testing remains to be seen.
The Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), which counts Apple as a charter member, has one goal in mind: to create a "digital key" standard that allows drivers to ditch their physical keys with NFC-enabled smartphones. In doing so, it might not be too long before you can use your iPhone to lock, unlock, start the engine, and share access to your car.Â
Apple has picked up another high profile engineer for its self-driving car project. The Information reports that the company has hired Jaime Waydo, an autonomous vehicle expert who previously worked at NASA, and was more recently a senior engineer at Google's Waymo division.
After a long cold Winter, Summer is the time to get back outside and enjoy everything the world has to offer. Whether you plan on visiting a beach, conquering a hiking trail, or laying next to your pool, we’ve got you covered. On this list, you'll find some of the best Summer accessories that go perfectly with your iPhone and other Apple devices.Â
Apple has partnered up with Fiat Chrysler and Volkswagen to offer a six-month subscription to Apple Music when purchasing a new vehicle with CarPlay. The new promo will start on May 1, 2018.
Today, Waymo has the world’s first and only fleet of fully self-driving cars on public roads.
Having obtained a California permit a year ago to test three self-driving cars on the road, Apple has now dramatically increased the number of SUVs in its self-driving test fleet.
The Toyota 2019 Avalon was just introduced at the North American International Auto Show up in Detroit, Michigan. It will be the first vehicle in Toyota's lineup to support Apple's CarPlay.
If you are driving a newer Ford vehicle, and are a fan of Waze, you've got something to be excited about. At CES 2018, Waze announced that it will be coming to Sync 3 infotainment systems to use right alongside CarPlay.