Apple’s debut in the car market is hard to come by. Great things are expected from the Apple Car beyond it being an electric car. One of them is the technologies that the Apple company is capable of implementing in it.
Apple is one of the great technologies that has set its sights on the electric car. But, as has also happened to other large companies (Google, Huawei, Sony), they have realized that manufacturing a car is a complex task that requires a lot of time and a lot of money to develop. The Apple brand keeps its progress very secret, although the information makes it clear that it is working on it. It is expected to have its first electric car ready by the end of this decade (if not sooner ), which could be a turning point for the automotive industry.
Apple’s technology could fuel a new revolution in the automotive world if, as has happened before (albeit in other sectors), automakers adopt some of its new ideas in their future models. Beyond propulsion technologies, one of them could be microLED technology. New research published by TrendForce suggests that displays based on this concept will see widespread adoption in the automotive industry in the second half of the decade.
The Apple Car could be one of the first models to adopt it. The Cupertino-based iPhone maker plans to bring it to several of its products, including the electric vehicle due out in 2025 or 2026. Apple has long been known to want to incorporate it first into the Apple Watch, which has long been touted as the first product to use this new display technology.
The information states that the switch from OLED to microLED could happen in 2026 “due to supply chain adjustments.” Apple initially planned to install a microLED panel in its smartwatch in 2025. This year, 2026, could be the year Apple expands the use of the technology to more products, “including headphones, smartphones and automotive applications.”
Once microLED displays make it to Apple Car, the rest of the industry could follow suit by bringing the same technology to future models. TrendForce says automakers in the largest markets — Europe, the United States, and Japan — have expressed “considerable enthusiasm” toward microLED adoption.
This technology allows us to reduce energy consumption and increase the brightness and reliability of the screens. Considering the significant improvement in efficiency, the technology could be deployed en masse when it proves its capabilities. Apple could pioneer the debut of microLED displays in the automotive world if its release date stays as it is.
The company wanted to launch the Apple Car in 2025, but sources familiar with the brand say it has pushed the release date back to 2026. The first Apple Car could be a ‘more conventional’ car than initially planned that would include a steering wheel and pedals. The company wanted to transform the cabin into a living room, removing the main controls as it would achieve level 5 autonomous driving. In the current version, autonomous driving support would be limited in a similar way to Tesla’s current Autopilot.
So far, Apple has kept quiet about its plans, although an announcement is expected in 2024 or 2025, about a year before the car’s launch. Apple will reveal the next generation of CarPlay this year, a new system that will play a pivotal role, in integrating with vehicle functions and collecting additional data.
