Apple Halts Project Titan, A Warning Sign for EVs, Apple and Moonshots

February 29, 2024 by Neil Cybart

Hello everyone.

Over the past 10 years, Above Avalon has followed nearly every Project Titan twist and turn. It would not surprise me to learn that Above Avalon was responsible for more words written about Project Titan than any other publication.

Today’s update will be dedicated to news of Apple halting Project Titan.

Let’s jump right in.

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More on Apple Watch Ultra, Tesla 4Q23 Deliveries, EV Market Slowing in U.S.

January 04, 2024 by Neil Cybart

We begin with additional comments related to the latest Above Avalon Report focused on Apple Watch Ultra. The update then turns to the auto space as we look at Tesla’s 4Q23 deliveries and signs of slowing EV growth in the U.S.

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Payment is hosted by MoonClerk and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. After signup, use this link to update your payment information and membership status at any time.

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Apple’s Transportation Ambition, Tesla 4Q22 Deliveries, Tesla’s Problem (Daily Update)

January 04, 2023 by Neil Cybart

We begin with some words on Project Titan. Two weeks ago, the newest Above Avalon Report, “Project Titan: Apple’s Transportation Ambition,” was published. The discussion then turns to Tesla. The company reported 4Q22 delivery data. We go over the numbers and what Neil views as a problem for Tesla.

Hello everyone. Welcome to 2023.

If you took time off, I hope it was a good and relaxing stretch. Some people are still away from the office this week, so we will use the next two days to return to a regular routine.

Several members emailed me over the break about Apple topics and developments that popped up in the news (China, stock price volatility, demand issues, risks in 2023). We will get to those topics, including my broader thoughts heading into 2023.

For today, we will focus on a topic that was initially not going to be on my “key discussion topics” list for 2023: electric vehicles.

Let’s jump right in.

Apple’s Transportation Ambition

Two weeks ago, the newest Above Avalon Report, “Project Titan: Apple’s Transportation Ambition” was published. You can find the report in your inbox – it was sent out December 22th at 10:48 pm ET. To those members who recently joined, you can access the report via the archive here.

Having a report dedicated to Project Titan has been on my to-do list for some time. It had become difficult for members to go through dozens of updates to piece together the history and motivation behind Project Titan.

Over the years, the Project Titan topic has become unwieldy at times. Periodic reporting has had a very short-term perspective, rarely providing readers the big picture. One is typically left with the impression that Titan is a revolving door within Apple with management constantly changing long-term objectives. That’s not reality.

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Project Titan: Apple’s Transportation Ambition (Above Avalon Report)

December 28, 2022 by Neil Cybart

An examination of Apple’s electric car R&D project.

Written by Neil Cybart – December 22nd, 2022

Since 2015, dozens of Above Avalon daily updates have been dedicated to discussing the latest developments involving Project Titan, Apple’s electric car R&D project. This report serves as both a summary of Titan developments to date as well as an examination of Apple’s path forward in transportation.

Rethinking Cars

What is an automobile?

How does one use an automobile?

Why do automobiles look the way they do?

Anyone who has owned or driven an automobile has formed answers to these questions over the span of their driving experiences. Ask the same questions to someone who has never driven an automobile, and the answers would be enlightening. Driving an automobile is not natural. We need to teach ourselves the art of navigating a heavy machine composed of thousands of little parts.

Is the driving learning experience focused on suppressing intuition in order for the user to adapt to a machine that hasn't changed much in decades?

Is it possible to make an automobile more intuitive so that someone with no driving experience can hop in and get to where they want to go in a much more enjoyable way than that which exists today?

Henry Ford had a very simple goal with the Model T: Set the world free.

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More on Project Titan, Transportation Problems, Apple Announces New Data Protections (Daily Update)

December 08, 2022 by Neil Cybart

Hello everyone. There a few follow-ups related to Project Titan that are worth discussing in today's update. We will then turn to Apple’s user data protection announcements.

More on Project Titan

Apple does not have something equivalent to a “future bets” team or division tasked with coming up with futuristic technologies that may or may not be commercially viable. Instead, R&D dollars are funneled to teams and technology with a defined purpose. This is part of Apple’s collaborative culture consisting of small teams comprised of people from various disciplines and backgrounds who are given the autonomy to think differently.

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Apple’s Electric Car Plans, Apple Car Design Questions, Apple’s Largest Risk (Daily Update)

December 07, 2022 by Neil Cybart

We begin today’s update with Neil’s thoughts on the Bloomberg article about Project Titan. The discussion then turns to an in-depth examination of Apple Car from a design perspective. We conclude with a look at what Neil positions as Apple’s largest risk.

Hello everyone. Happy Wednesday. We have a lot to discuss so let’s jump right in.

Apple’s Electric Car Plans

Over at Bloomberg, here’s Mark Gurman:

“Apple Inc. has scaled back ambitious self-driving plans for its future electric vehicle and postponed the car’s target launch date by about a year to 2026, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The car project, dubbed Titan inside the company, has been in limbo for the past several months as Apple executives grappled with the reality that its vision for a fully autonomous vehicle — without a steering wheel or pedals — isn’t feasible with current technology.

In a significant shift for the project, the company is now planning a less-ambitious design that will include a steering wheel and pedals and only support full autonomous capabilities on highways, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.”

Gurman’s article came across as something of a catch basin for everything we already know about Titan. Most of the details we have discussed in the past either in these updates or over at AboveAvalon.com. For example:

Apple VP of technology Kevin Lynch’s involvement (more detail here).
Apple’s vehicle proving grounds in Arizona (more detail here).
Former BMW executive and Canoo co-founder Ulrich Kranz’s involvement and Apple’s interest in the company’s unique approach to automobiles (more detail here).
Apple’s land purchases around San Jose International airport strongly pointing to being car related (more detail here). It's not clear if Apple still plans on putting affordable housing on some of the land, as Apple said it would back in 2019.
Canadian involvement regarding QNX (more detail here).
Lidar/radar usage, along with cameras.
Apple's R&D explosion over the years (more detail here).

Bloomberg once again tried to position its report as AAPL stock moving news, which is unfortunate.

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Above Avalon Membership

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