New Apple Patent Reveals More About the iCar, Video Really is King

With everything going on today, it’s hard to imagine people thinking about Apple’s iCar. It’ll most likely be very, very expensive. While a boatload of cash might not necessarily be a problem for a lot of fans and customers of the iPhone maker, advanced technology, safety, and comfort surely are things people would demand from a future electric vehicle (EV) made by Apple.

The latest United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) disclosed filing involving the Cupertino-based technology giant shows claims for a “vehicle that has a plurality of cameras, a network interface, a memory, and one or more computer processors.” The patent has been awarded to Apple and has the number US 11,297,371 B1. So, now we have yet another confirmation that your favorite phone, tablet, and computer producer is serious about making this iCar everyone’s been talking about.

Apple is still keen on keeping Project Titan a secret. The patent is extremely well worded towards not letting anything out in the wild, but here’s the gist of it.

For starters, a car is involved. This vehicle will most likely be a battery-electric car because that’s what’s popular now. Hydrogen is too far off from becoming usable even in urban areas, so Apple isn’t going to force you to change how you view your commute.

Drive, record, share

The patent confirms some rumors regarding this iCar being very advanced and versatile. The document that’s attached down below shows the EV will have a complex system of cameras that will work well with Apple’s ecosystem. Not only will it offer the chance for users to map roads and share them with friends, but it will also allow you to send video recordings to those close to you or even authorities. Yes, the iCar might become a very good vehicle for ridesharing.

The USPTO filing even says that “conventional facilities for sharing current location include providing coordinates on a map, but map data may not tell the whole story.”

Still, there’s something to consider here. Who’ll pay for the Apple car just to have it used in the city all the time with strangers coming in and out? Should we speculate and say that two vehicles are possible? It might be plausible. After all, we have the iPhone Pro Max and the SE. The company knows how to please everyone, regardless of their budget. Or, who knows, maybe they’re preparing for business fleets or luxury rentals.

According to the patent, this new camera system will allow for seeing extremely well out of the vehicle too. It will allow the driver or the passenger to watch the surroundings from their phone or the infotainment screen.

Furthermore, the phone camera will be able to act as a device that can see outside of the car, which might become a great safety feature.

The video feed will also be available when the iCar is remote-controlled. The owner or the renter will be able to see where the vehicle is and how it’s driving itself.

But wait, there’s more! You’ll be able to watch a lot of footage of what your car permanently records! Apple says users will have the possibility to see exactly what parts they want from the data stored, just in case you have a dent or something happened while you were traveling and didn’t notice it in time.

Are you sharing your car with someone, and you don’t want that person to look at what you did and where you drove beforehand? Have no fear; Apple is here with a solution. You can make accounts and have your footage securely stored.

And, of course, you’ll also be able to share videos with your friends straight away. Everything the car sees, your online buddies will as well enjoy if you, of course, share this data.

The particularities of Apple’s new car with a lot of cameras and computers can be seen in the attached patent filing with the USPTO.

Everything points at the iCar being something that Apple will bring to the market.

Just do it, Apple!

The continuous development of Project Titan and the news that we keep hearing and seeing about it is making us all wonder if the iPhone maker will be ready to reveal this vehicle sooner rather than later. After all, let’s remember there were also other discoveries about the iCar made in the past. At some point, the company led by Tim Cook even showed a drawing of a car with OLED screens on it. Why would anything other than a taxi or a ridesharing car have expensive stuff like high-quality displays on their exterior?

There was also another patent that showed Apple is looking to make its own LiDAR system, which is a radar that can use light to map the area around the vehicle. This system is useful for everyday driving, but it’s also very important for fully autonomous vehicles.

We’ve also seen other filings that showed different ways of accessing a vehicle by using a phone or a smartwatch, and face unlock too. The latter has also been patented by Hyundai and the Koreans will put it on their cars that, you know, exist.

Apple also patented a Lexus-like A/C system, but they added cooling and heating for specific parts of the human body that are done automatically with the help of sensors and many, many vents. The American tech giant also registered an invention that brings photochromic glass for this futuristic vehicle. This means you’ll be able to set exactly how much sunlight you want inside the cabin and precisely where you want it!

The company is also keen on safety, and that’s why it thought of roof-deploying airbags and an adjustable seatbelt buckle. Apple also has a patent for a gesture control system that uses the swipe gesture to tell the car where you want it to go. That’s useful for self-driving vehicles.

There’s even another USPTO filing that shows automatic charging, which further enhances the rumor that the car will be all-electric.

In the end, the iCar continues to remain a mystery. Apple has been preparing for it since the Nissan Leaf started to become popular, so we’re inclined to believe they want to release a product that’ll make Tesla and others think twice before they update their vehicles or change something just to test it on users.

But you still have to remember that a patent is not a guarantee of production. Nobody can assume these inventions will be implemented as described in the USPTO documents. What it shows is that Apple wants to keep its technology from being used by others. That’s why they’re patenting everything. Let’s hope they won’t pull a Dyson, and we will see something truly great in 2025.

Remember when Elon Musk wanted to sell Tesla to Apple? That may have been a missed opportunity.