Apple Car delayed again, now coming in 2026

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

A new report from Bloomberg says that Apple has pushed back the Apple Car release date by another year.

That would make 2026 the target date for a consumer release. Apple has reportedly reduced the selling price to “less than $100,000” from the earlier expectations of over $120,000.

The company has done this to appeal to a broader range of consumers. The Apple Car will go up against other luxury electric vehicles like Tesla’s Model S or Mercedes-Benz’s EQS.

Apple had hoped to create a fully self-driving car without a steering wheel or a traditional driver’s seat. That would be a “Level 5” autonomy level, which no company has achieved to date.

Apple has reportedly scaled back that vision. Apple’s Car will have a steering wheel and pedals, with autonomous features only working on highways.

That puts it in the same range of self-driving capabilities as Tesla or any other automakers working on autonomous vehicles. Bloomberg also mentions that the Apple Car will rely on LiDAR and radar sensors in addition to cameras.

The car’s brains will be from a custom system “about four of Apple’s highest-end Mac chips combined.” Apple’s highest-powered chip currently is the M1 Ultra which is only available in the Mac Studio.

The report also says that Apple still needs to finalize a design for the vehicle. Apple is aiming to finish the design stages next year.

Then the company will finalize a feature set for the car and head into the prototyping stages. Whatever design Apple lands on, expect it to be more traditional inside.

The “limousine-like interior where passengers could face each other” has also been shelved. If Apple cracks fully-autonomous driving, then it could reevaluate the interior.

Have any thoughts on this? Carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Apple Music adds karaoke feature just in time for the holidays
• Apple is being sued over AirTag stalking
• GM’s electric Equinox will be one of the cheapest EVs available
• Tesla faces criminal investigation over Autopilot claims

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.