It’s no secret that Apple has plans to get into the auto industry with Project Titan. However, the company has been so tight-lipped about what’s going on behind closed doors that it’s anyone’s guess what they’re up to. Earlier this year, the tech company hired former QNX CEO, Dan Dodge, who may provide some insight into what’s going on.
At first, when Apple announced that they were working on something in the automotive industry, everyone jumped to the conclusion that the world is getting an autonomous “iCar”. With Dodge being part of the team now, evidence points more towards the company having a possible interest in the software realm of the automotive world.
The reason for this is that QNX, Dodge’s former employer, is BlackBerry’s automotive-software division. Bloomberg speculates that his hiring could mean that the tech company has shifted their efforts to providing software and hardware for autonomous vehicles; the same strategy that Google has likely implemented with their technology.
On the other hand, CNet seems to believe that Apple is planning to turn Project Titan into an autonomous ride sharing service. Their speculation is backed by the fact that the company purchased a sizeable share of Didi Chuxing, which is a Chinese ride sharing service.
The least exciting theory is that Project Titan is nothing more than a more intuitive version of Apple Carplay, that may have some additional autonomous features accompanying it. Cars that already have the option to come equipped with Carplay would likely be offered as well with whatever Project Titan has in store for the future.
At the end of the day this all speculation. Apple has said little to nothing about what it is that they’re actually working on. Unlike Google’s “egg car”, no one’s actually seen Project Titan. The longer Apple keeps the public in the dark, the more the rumors will continue to fly. Who knows, by the end of next week Project Titan could be an Autobot.
