Speculation about an Apple Car just got a shot in the arm with news that the company has registered 3 different domain names related to automobiles. The websites were registered in December last year and are not active yet.
The sites which got registered by Apple are named apple.car, apple.cars and apple.auto, according to a January 8 Whois records listing. This doesn’t necessarily mean the brand is gearing up for a car launch though, as it’s possible the pages are related to its CarPlay feature for vehicles.
CarPlay basically syncs a person’s Apple device with their car and allows them to access various apps like Maps or Messages right from their dashboard. However, the tool came out in 2014 and it seems unlikely that the company has decided to launch a separate website for it after such a long gap.
The domains are more likely related to the rumors which suggest Apple is building its own electric car. MacRumors reports that the vehicle might be in the process of being prepped for a 2019 or 2020 shipping date. The manufacturer has apparently employed hundreds of people with that target in mind.
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Reports over the past year claim Apple has been poaching talent from the likes of Ford, Samsung, Tesla, Nvidia, A123 Systems and GM. Given that it’s a top secret initiative, the car is apparently being referred to as Project Titan in certain circles.
Adding more fuel to the rumor mills are the allegations that the company was in discussions with a Bay Area facility to test the Apple Car on the road back in August 2015. The place can be used to test both self-driving and regular vehicles, which lead some to believe the manufacturer was working on an autonomous car.