Apple Car Concept

The Apple Watch is out (well, almost and if you didn’t order one few hours ago, you might have to wait for the summer to get one). So what’s next on the horizon for Apple beyond the iteration of its existing products? An Apple Car?

While we don’t expect to see self-driving cars taking over the road before 2020, premium brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Audi are already beginning to implement advanced driver assistance systems on their cars. A large-scale test involving 100 Volvo customers and vehicles with autonomous capabilities is already set for 2017. Last but not least, Google self-driving prototype is already cruising the streets of Northern California (with a human driver for now) while Google continues to test and learn.

What about Apple? The company has not made any official comments on whether it’s actually planning to enter the auto business next. Nevertheless, many reports claimed the company has built a team of up 1,000 Apple employees to work on an electric car while poaching experts from Tesla and Mercedes. Apple might even have started putting together a large-scale battery division in anticipation of a possible vehicle’s upcoming energy needs. Supposedly, Tim Cook wants the Apple car (aka Project Titan vehicle) on the road by 2020.

In the meantime, designers continue to dream up what a secret Apple Car might look like. We particularly like this semi-autonomous electric car concept from Aristomenis Tsirbas that oozes with Apple’s traditional minimalist design. The car features external high resolution LED screens front and back for user selected headlight/taillight designs. The car concept also includes structural body modeling with discreet hatch and doors that open laterally.

Now, will it come in silver, gold, and space gray?

Sebastien Chalmeton is the founder and CEO of Mighty Things, a global strategy and innovation company designed for the connected world. We solve business problems at the intersection of digital innovation, mobility, wearable tech and the Internet of Things.

Please hit ‘Recommend’ if you enjoyed, and even follow me on Twitter