Apple builds a car, starting with software

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In the early morning of June 7, Apple released a new generation of CarPlay in-car interaction system at the 2022 Developer Conference (WWDC). This system deeply integrates the in-vehicle screen display, and can send information content to multiple display screens such as vehicle instrumentation and central control display, and obtain vehicle data, driving speed, fuel remaining, in-vehicle temperature and more instrument information .

When smart cars are hot in 2021, there are rumors in the market whether Apple will launch an Apple car. I talked about it at the time. Apple will not launch an Apple car, because if Apple wants to launch a car, it will be viewed from the perspective of its product strategy. , it will definitely be directly defined at the level of intelligent driving vehicles . At present, no matter whether it is communication, software, intelligent driving technology, the hardware of the smart car itself, or urban roads, it still cannot meet the basic requirements for realizing the smart car.

So, in the era of smart cars, what is the most valuable thing? In fact, it is not the smart car itself, but the software operating system . This is very similar to the logic of the current smartphone. The profit margin of the smartphone itself is limited, but the commercial space based on the smartphone ecosystem application system is unlimited. This is exactly what Apple estimates. Value can replace the core key of the sum of the market capitalization of all our top Internet companies.

Therefore, when major auto companies begin to enter the field of automotive intelligence, one of the key factors is that the proportion of the screen in the interior space of the car is increasing, which creates an opportunity for Apple's intelligent system introduction . For traditional auto companies, these increasingly large intelligent screens can only be a few car fields and some simple audio and video interactions in the hands of these auto companies. What traditional auto companies lack is car intelligence. application system.

But for Apple, this intelligent software system is its strength, and multi-platform integration and interactive applications across hardware are also its strengths. How to take the lead in occupying this upcoming intelligent cockpit of traditional car companies is a very attractive thing for Apple. So Apple took over a dozen old car companies, including Land Rover, Porsche, Nissan, Ford, Lincoln, Audi, Jaguar, Volvo, and Honda, and included them as cooperative customers of Apple's CarPlay in-vehicle interaction system.

In fact, Baidu, Alibaba, and Huawei are all aware of this problem, such as Baidu's Apollo, Alibaba's AliOS, and Huawei's Hongmeng OS, but Baidu and Alibaba are still pursuing a strategy of big ambition and big start, that is, they are engaged in cars and systems. , this kind of grand strategy often leads to strategic difficulties because ambition outweighs technical prowess.

In comparison, Apple, which has only small ambitions and a big strategy, is more pragmatic. For example, it can make a mobile phone, a tablet, a computer, and a smart watch, all of which are too small to be small. Focusing on continuous optimization and upgrading of one product, there are no redundant product lines. Then the same is true in the field of smart cars, starting from its own application system and serving all traditional car manufacturers. Let these traditional car manufacturers hand over the intelligence of data and car space to Apple, and Apple will conduct in-depth exploration and research and development, and come to provide these car manufacturers with space optimization suggestions and solutions for intelligent car design.

Then Huawei's current path is very similar to Apple's path, which is to provide automobile companies with Huawei's Hongmeng OS intelligent car application system based on its own technology research and development strength, but Huawei and Apple's PK at the software application level does not need to be I have made an evaluation, and the majority of netizens have evaluated it.

In fact, as early as 2015, I talked about that Apple's smart watch will become the key to future smart cars, which means that in the future, the car interaction system based on Apple CarPlay will truly lead the car to the intelligent era. The second living space will also be controlled by smart wearables and smartphones. I don't know how Baidu's Apollo and Ali's AliOS will develop. At least in terms of technology, they are still behind Huawei's Hongmeng OS. Whether they can produce miracles in such an inward-looking ecology can only be left to time. , to the majority of netizens to answer, I believe that the majority of netizens have the answer in their hearts.