According to sources who spoke to Bloomberg, Apple’s Project Titan is now shifting its focus to develop autonomous driving software for use in smart cars. It’s certainly possible. However, recent moves at the company suggest that Apple is also potentially focusing more on the technology that could be found in a “next-gen” vehicle rather than the specific design of a vehicle.
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According to Bloomberg, Apple is not abandoning its effort to build a full Apple Car, but the shift in strategy leaves the door open should the company eventually decide to partner with or acquire an established car maker.
Those with knowledge of the project cite delays, confusion and departures as impacting a targeted 2020 release. For those unaware, Mansfield was previously the SVP of Technologies and is now leading Apple’s not-so-secret vehicle project. Recently, it was reported that the target date had slipped to 2021.
Tim Cook on Tuesday’s Q3 conference call: “The products that are in R&D, there is quite a bit of investment in there for products and services that are not now shipping or derivations of what is now shipping”. His division consists of three pillars: a software team under John Wright; a sensors group headed by Benjamin Lyon; and a unit of hardware engineers led by D.J. Novotney. But now Mansfield, a long-time Apple exec who worked with Steve Jobs and is reportedly well-respected inside the company, is driving the project.
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Dan Dodge, the founder and former chief executive officer of QNX, the operating system developer that BlackBerry acquired in 2010, joined Apple earlier this year, the people said.
