Saturday, November 23, 2024
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Apple’s concept ideas for a car included spherical tires, AR windshields, more

I wouldn’t have been able to afford an Apple Car if Apple ever built one — which seems highly unlikely now — but it would have been cool to see what the tech giant could have come up with. And apparently, it had some craaaaaazy ideas.

According to Business Insider, a few years ago Apple employees, including design guru Jony Ive, came up with concepts for the car of the future:

Apple enlisted software programmers, automotive engineers, rocket scientists and the industrial-design team of Apple’s design chief, Jonathan Ive, to reimagine the car. They entertained a series of unconventional concepts, including augmented-reality or holographic displays embedded in windshields and windows, a sunroof made of a special polymer that reduces heat from the sun, and windows with adjustable tints — like those on Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner jets. There was also a concept that was an SUV with interior seats facing each other.

According to The Motley Crew (https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/04/pulling-back-the-curtain-on-apples-self-driving-ca.aspx), here are some other ideas that Apple engineers initially contemplated:

  • Automatic doors that open and close silently;
  • An interior designed without a steering wheel or gas pedal;
  • Spherical wheels that allow the car to drive sideways. (The mock-up is courtesy of SlashGear.)

As I said, I wouldn’t have been to afford an Apple Car, but I’d sure like to see a vehicle with some or all of these features.


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Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.