We've been hearing rumors about an upcoming Apple Car for many years now. Initially, the company was reportedly aiming at a self-driving vehicle that lacks a steering wheel and pedals. However, it seems like the Cupertino firm has now changed its plans for the first model it will release. A new Bloomberg report indicates that the first Apple Car could be semi-autonomous, with its self-driving capabilities limited to highways. In bad weather conditions and on narrower streets, users will need to switch back to manual control.

We expect the first consumer Apple Car to launch by the year 2026 for under $100,000. The smart vehicle will reportedly be powered by a custom chip that the company has been working on. The chipset's might is estimated to match that of four high-end Mac processors. Expectedly, the Apple Car might also include LiDAR Scanners, radar sensors, cameras, and other technologies to help the vehicle detect other objects and people within proximity.

Apple first started working on this project back in 2014. During this long period, the company has shifted its vision several times. For example, at some point it decided to just build its own autonomous driving system that other manufacturers could bake into their cars. Eventually, it shifted back to the original, self-driving car vision. And now the latest report indicates that the outcome could, in fact, be semi-autonomous. Considering the complexity of this project, Apple could tweak its plans again or scrap them altogether. Ultimately, the rumored launch deadline is still around three years away, and that's a very, very long time in tech years.

If the Apple Car sees the light of day, the self-driving on highways feature could initially be limited to North American territories. The company could also depend on the cloud for some AI processing. Additionally, we expect it to have a built-in remote command feature for emergencies. That's not to mention the entertainment system for watching movies on the go.

Would you buy an Apple Car? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments section below.


Source: Bloomberg