Foxconn and STMicroelectronics are also working on Apple Car
For a long time, nothing has been said about the Apple Car project – a possible electric car of the American company. But today the well-known Taiwanese resource DigiTimes broke the silence: the latest report of the online publication says that Apple and TSMC are working together on a “chip” that will become the heart of the autonomous driving system of some promising car. In general, the publication concerns not only the joint work of Apple and TSMC but let’s talk about everything in order.
Is Apple’s electric car getting closer? Apple and TSMC prepare an autonomous driving system for the Apple Car project
So, according to the publication, Apple and TSMC are jointly developing a “chip” (in fact, it will be either an SoC or a single-board or microcomputer) that will be used in self-propelled cars. Interestingly, a similar solution with TSMC is working on … Tesla – denoted by the code HW4.0, it should go into production in the fourth quarter of 2021. Given that Tesla cars are already at the forefront of the industry, one might think that HW4.0 will be able to provide a fifth (or at least fourth plus) level autopilot for sure. What Apple’s “chip” can do is not reported, but it can be assumed that it should not lag far behind Tesla’s development, at least in terms of the processing power required to operate such a complex system. Such a “chip” can be produced at the American TSMC plant, in which the company is going to invest 12 billion dollars.
TSMC and Apple are reported to be working on the Apple Car project at an exclusive research and development facility located in Taiwan. And another equally well-known company, STMicroelectronics, is taking an active part in the project.
While TSMC is responsible for the development of the “chip,” STMicroelectronics is responsible for the implementation of gallium nitride integrated circuits for “medium to high power” solutions such as power converters and car chargers. That is, the source is sure that within the framework of Apple Car, not only the very heart of the autonomous driving system is being developed, but also some specific components of an electric vehicle. Or a hybrid.
And here it is just right to recall another long-time Apple partner – Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known under the Foxconn brand. iPhones have been assembled at the facilities of this company for many years, and it is possible that Hon Hai will be responsible for the production of finished devices as part of the Apple Car project. In mid-October, Foxconn unveiled MIH, an open platform for electric vehicles, with which it intends to occupy up to 10% of the electric vehicle market within 7 years. MIH is a complex of hardware (traction batteries, inverters, electric motors) and software (control system, supplemented with modern driver assistance technologies). Foxconn has been working with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to develop an electric vehicle project since the beginning of the year. All this looks like an accumulation of experience and competence for starting a more serious, image-based, and, of course, very marginal project – Apple Car.
In general, as you can see, the project involves three long-term and large Apple partners, but there will be others. The full list of companies from the supply chain of components is promised to be made public next year. It is also interesting that, according to the source, ” the Apple Car model is similar to the Tesla model .” It is difficult to say what exactly is meant by “model”. This is definitely not a specific car model, but rather a strategy. That is, one can think that by the time of the physical embodiment, Apple Car will correspond to the Tesla cars that were relevant at that time – powerful, with a full autopilot and a cruising range of about 1000 km. At least that’s what Tesla is aiming for.
