The Self-Driving, Windowless Apple Car Could Feature VR Technology

Guess it's not Windows compatible 🤷

Apple has made a lotta products we didn't know we needed. Like, I always thought my trusty ticking watch was all I needed to tell the time, yet here I am obsessively trying to close my rings erry' day.

But the tech giant is steering the company in a different direction, with the possibility of an actual Apple car.

The idea has been in the works at Apple since 2014 when they started exploring two options—a model with limited self-driving capabilities focused on steering and acceleration (so, like every other car) and a model that doesn't require human intervention and drives itself.

No steering wheel, no foot pedals, no driver controls of any kind. 

It isn't the first idea of its kind, of course. Tech and auto conglomerates alike have spent years working on self-driving cars, but without too much luck.

Bloomberg reports Tesla Inc., despite being the market leader in electric vehicles, are still years away from offering fully autonomous cars and Uber Technologies agreed to sell their autonomous-driving division in 2020.

But, according to VR Scout, Apple is accelerating the development of its electric, self-driving car with the hopes of launching in 2025 (although Apple is yet to confirm that). 

And, after looking into a few car-related patents Apple has filed, VR Scout has uncovered a few extra, interesting features of the vehicle too.

They reported that a previously-filed patent includes an in-car Virtual Reality entertainment system that uses the vehicle's motion to sync with movement and acceleration and further immerse passengers in their VR experience.

And it seems Windows are also not compatible here? 

No, but instead of conventional windows, passengers may have to view the outside world using their VR headset, which will apparently reduce motion sickness?

Bloomberg also reported Apple's ideal car could feature an interior where passengers sit along the sides of the vehicle and face each other like in a limo, would be equipped with emergency takeover mode, and would, of course, be integrated with all of their existing tech and devices. 

We don't know how we feel about it yet, but Twitter sure does so here are some of the best reactions we've seen so far:

Apple's self-driving car looks like a horribly uncomfortable computer mouse I've attempted to use before https://t.co/JujpSgDtni

— 1801 tired catgirls (@ManjiButt) May 18, 2022

Watch this space!

Header image: VR Scout via Twitter (edited).