Automotive

Night Shift mode could be coming to Mac, Apple Watch and CarPlay

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 4, 2016

Night Shift mode, a new iOS 9.3 feature which helps users get a good night’s sleep by reducing the amount of blue light emitted from a backlight of their iOS device as the sun sets, could be coming to the Mac, the Apple Watch and even to Apple's CarPlay infotainment system, Patently Apple writes.

A trademark application for “Computer software for controlling computer and mobile device display screens,” filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), specifically covers smartphones (the iPhone), computers (the Mac), smartwatches (Apple Watch) and cars (CarPlay) while also mentioning things like styluses, batteries, radios, integrated circuits and even fire extinguishers, which is normal for these types of trademarks.

2017 Porsche Panamera will have CarPlay integration

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 29, 2016

Apple's infotainment system will be integrated natively into a 2017 edition of Panamera from Porsche, the German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars. The car maker announced this morning that the 2017 Panamera luxury sedan has CarPlay support via a built-in 12.3-inch touchscreen.

In addition to CarPlay, the vehicle will support a new version of Porsche's own Communication Management system with navigation, a voice control system with support for natural language parsing, Porsche Connect and more.

Honda says CarPlay coming to 2017 Accord refresh

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 24, 2016

Japanese car manufacturer Honda currently uses Apple's CarPlay infotainment system in the 2016 Accord and Civic, as well as in the 2017 Ridgeline.

Today, the company announced that CarPlay will be returning in the 2017 Accord which will be arriving in showrooms on Monday, starting at $22,355.

Former Apple engineers create a $500 rearview vehicle camera with smart features

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 9, 2017

About 50 former Apple employees now work for a startup, called Pearl, which was co-founded by three former Apple engineers (Joseph Fisher, Brian Sander and Bryson Gardner) who had spent decades helping develop some of the most iconic Apple devices like iPods and iPhones. For the past two years, Pearl has been working on its first product, a smart rearview vehicle camera, which unveiled this morning.

George Hotz’s $1,000 kit will transform your car into a self-driving one

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 7, 2016

George Hotz aka “GeoHot” is one of the pioneers of the early jailbreak scene. In December 2015, Bloomberg Businessweek ran a lengthy profile focused on Hotz's new project: a self-driving car kit. He's since secured funding for the project, Forbes reported, and now the kit that promises to transform your car into a self-driving vehicle for just $1,000 seems to be becoming a reality, as The Verge reports.

Apple shows interest in the technology behind charging stations for electric vehicles

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 25, 2016

In yet another indication that Apple's secretive electric vehicle effort, dubbed Project Titan, isn't just a pipe dream, Reuters said in a report this morning that recent hirings have revealed Apple's interest in exploring the technology behind charging stations for electric vehicles while hinting that it could consider engineering a similar technology.

Apple granted a patent that’d allow advanced car control via your iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 24, 2016

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Tuesday granted Apple a patent that could be a perfect fit for Project Titan, its not-so-secretive electric car project.

The proposed invention outlines an advanced vehicle access control system that would permit an iPhone to do things like open your car doors, start or shut off the engine for specific time frames and for specific duration of time, adjust and activate personalized car settings and more.

“The feature set described in this invention went far beyond anything that could have been conceived working with CarPlay,” explains Patently Apple, which first caught wind of the granted patent.

BMW to finally kick off CarPlay roll out this fall with X5M and X6M models

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 6, 2017

BMW still doesn't have any vehicle on the market with integrated CarPlay support, but that's about to change this fall, Bimmerpost said Friday. As the German-language publication gleaned from BMW's official price list, BMW's mid-size luxury crossover models, the X5M and X6M, will have built-in CarPlay when they arrive in August.

Uber starts testing self-driving car technology

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 20, 2016

Uber announced yesterday that it began testing a self-driving car technology of its own, with the ultimate goal of potentially replacing drivers with computers for its ride-hailing service in a not-so-distant future.

Apple wants to lease a 800,000 square foot warehouse for Project Titan R&D work

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 6, 2016

The Wall Street Journal yesterday shared some rather interesting development regarding Silicon Valley's worst-kept secret, an Apple-designed electric car, dubbed Project Titan. The firm is apparently seeking a massive 800,000 square foot warehouse, presumably to keep research and development work on Project Titan secret for as long as possible.

Furthermore, the iPhone maker is said to be in the process of expanding Project Titan team, which reportedly had about 600 employees last year, according to sources.

German carmakers Daimler and BMW won’t be collaborating with Apple on electric car project

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 5, 2018

German newspaper Handelsblatt is reporting that German carmakers Daimler and BMW won't be collaborating with Apple on its rumored electric car, code-named Project Titan.

According to sources in the know, talks with Daimler and BMW over a cooperation deal on an electric car have ended. The talks with BMW collapsed last yea.

Those with Daimler have ended more recently, reportedly over the key questions like would lead the project and which company would have ownership of the data. Neither of the three companies would even confirm that negotiations had taken place.

Apple rumored to be running a secret vehicle research and development lab in Germany

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 18, 2016

Influential German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung this morning ran a story on Apple's rumored electric car, code-named Project Titan, claiming that the iPhone maker is running a secret vehicle research and development lab in the heart of Berlin.

Apple's 15-20 person “top class” team at the site is mostly comprised of engineers hired away from several German car manufacturers, who are described as “progressive thinkers” in their respective fields. The report adds that Apple is said to be planning to use Austria-based automotive contract manufacturer Magna to build its electric vehicle.