Apple and Kia Building a vehicle?

[Christopher Reggie]

What is everyone's thoughts on Apple and Kia potentially building a vehicle together? Does this signal that other large tech brands will partner with automotive manufacturers to produce tech-heavy vehicles for diehard consumers? Samsung will certainly follow where Apple leads, right?

The real question is - will these be considered as Apple / Samsung / etc products, or will they be a product of the manufacturer and will be sold at dealerships? Will brand specialists and salespeople need to also become Genius Bar / Geek Squad style employees?

These aren't necessarily the things that keep me up at night, but it's definitely a question I feel like the Dealer Refresh community could and should chime in on.





- Christopher Reggie
Digital 1 Group
www.Digital1Group.com

 

[craigh]

I'm personally not a fan of how Apple handles software updates / decisions and it concerns me that my vehicle could be limited to their OS.
Tesla has shown what can be done with proper car technology - I would rather see a QNX approach to building what Tesla has done, rather than having Apple do it "their way".

 

[ChrisR]

I'm personally not a fan of how Apple handles software updates / decisions and it concerns me that my vehicle could be limited to their OS.
Tesla has shown what can be done with proper car technology - I would rather see a QNX approach to building what Tesla has done, rather than having Apple do it "their way".

You mean, you don't want to purchase a tens of thousands of dollar expensive vehicle that the Apple OS degrades battery life through OTA updates?

 

[Richard Secor]

It would be interesting to see what Apple could do with any OEM.
I would imagine that it will be a sub-brand or a specific series, sort of like gas and electric vehicles of the same model work now.
I highly doubt any additional knowledge with a change like this would be necessary to keep the same expierence as exists now.

@craigh
Apple does what they do with their OS regarding allowing/disallowing applications, etc. because they are security-first not feature-first.

@ChrisR
As far as being "expensive" I have constantly proven that the same hardware, or at least similar hardware, costs the same (and in most cases more) for something not from Apple versus from Apple.
As for "degrading battery life" Apple did that once. Would you rather talk about how Samsung allowed batteries to have a high potential of exploding while you were using their devices?

In the end, it will be up to consumers and if Apple even goes through with it.
I have been hearing about this for a few months and last I heard Apple is less and less likely to even do it, let alone with KIA/Hyundai (as originally reported due to one of their management team not keeping their mouth shut, something that irked Apple).

I think it is more likely that Apple with increasing its CarPlay integration by working with one or more manufacturers.
Think about it like this, what if you could use your device (Apple, Android, etc.) to not only work with your entertainment system but also other parts of your car's computer? Want to change how your dashboard panel looks? On-screen display on your windshield? Augmented Reality (AR) on your windshield or other windows?

 

[craigh]

@craigh
Apple does what they do with their OS regarding allowing/disallowing applications, etc. because they are security-first not feature-first.

That's the story they sell people for sure.

 

[ChrisR]

@ChrisR
As far as being "expensive" I have constantly proven that the same hardware, or at least similar hardware, costs the same (and in most cases more) for something not from Apple versus from Apple.
As for "degrading battery life" Apple did that once. Would you rather talk about how Samsung allowed batteries to have a high potential of exploding while you were using their devices?

We aren't talking about Samsung. We are talking about Apple. They are well-known for slowing older devices, and reducing battery life with successive updates. What are you even talking about with the cost? Apple branded products cost a lot more, for the exact same specs from non-Apple made items.

It's OK, now that Jobs has passed on the drive to innovate has turned into an idle. Apple will suffer the same issues they had the first time Jobs left, unless they truly get back to innovating. Perhaps that is what they are trying to do with the on-again, off-again, Kia partnership.

At this point, it is a trust issue. I don't trust Apple, so I, personally, am not interested in a car they help build.

Also, is the Samsung battery issue an ongoing thing, or was that just around the earlier Note products?

 

[Chris Cachor]

From what I've heard so far the Apple Car will be nothing like a car but more along the lines of a Canoo (https://www.canoo.com). Which makes sense given what they're good at: software, services, mapping, and sensors. I think it makes sense for whichever manufacturing partner they chose, though. The fact they're talking with car manufacturers is important.

 

[Richard Secor]

We aren't talking about Samsung. We are talking about Apple. They are well-known for slowing older devices, and reducing battery life with successive updates. What are you even talking about with the cost? Apple branded products cost a lot more, for the exact same specs from non-Apple made items.

It's OK, now that Jobs has passed on the drive to innovate has turned into an idle. Apple will suffer the same issues they had the first time Jobs left, unless they truly get back to innovating. Perhaps that is what they are trying to do with the on-again, off-again, Kia partnership.

At this point, it is a trust issue. I don't trust Apple, so I, personally, am not interested in a car they help build.

Also, is the Samsung battery issue an ongoing thing, or was that just around the earlier Note products?

Regarding cost: I have constantly shown that similar hardware is nearly identical, or in many cases more expensive, from Dell than from Apple.

 

[craigh]

Regarding cost: I have constantly shown that similar hardware is nearly identical, or in many cases more expensive, from Dell than from Apple.

Dell is also overpriced, no question.
The problem is that the lower cost laptops are also lower quality - there aren't many middle of the ground companies, but I do regularly recommend ASUS.