American manufacturing giant, Apple, has been in the technology industry for a long time. We know that the company has a lot of patents when it comes to smartphones and other accessories. What is not so common is the fact that Apple has been working on automotive technologies for decades. According to recent reports, since 2000, Apple has applied for and published a total of 248 automotive-related patents. Apple’s patents cover driverless technology, ride comfort, seating, suspension, navigation, battery management, V2X vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and more. The most filed patents are communications and navigation patents, followed by unmanned driving.
Apple’s patent application won’t be published until about 18 months after filing. Eight automotive patents have been published since 2021, with more likely to be issued later this year. In 2021, the company has published more patents than it did in 2020. Of course, 2020 had a lot of distractions thus we do not expect much from any technology company. From 2010 to 2015, Apple applied for less than 10 automotive patents per year. However, it started to increase to 44 in 2016 and hit a new high of 66 in 2017. In 2014, there were reports that Apple is developing a driverless car, and there have been rumours since then.
Apple will have partners
Apple has been negotiating with a number of automakers and component suppliers over the past few years. However, we still don’t know which partners Apple will work with. One thing that is certain is that Apple will have partners. Considering that Apple’s patents are related to windows, seats, suspension and other car components, we have reason to believe that Apple is not only concerned with the software but has a high probability of launching a complete vehicle.
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The latest rumours suggest that the Apple car has four seats, possibly facing the seats, without a steering wheel or brake pedals. When will the car be launched? We do not know, but analysts expect Apple to target a 2025 release.
Samsung poaches Apple’s employee again – this time, a semiconductor chip expert
According to media reports, the relationship between Apple and Samsung is slightly complex. The two companies are each other’s biggest competitors in the field of consumer electronics, but at the same time, the two companies are also partners. Apple purchases from Samsung. For many key components, including OLED panels, Samsung also earns a lot of revenue from Apple by selling components. The relationship between Apple and Samsung is both a partner and a competitor. This also makes the flow of important executives between the two companies slightly rare. Even if Apple has poached a large number of technical experts and executives from many companies, very few of them are from Samsung.
In terms of poaching employees, Samsung is leading. The latest report shows that Samsung recently poached a semiconductor expert from Apple again. According to reports in the Korean media, Samsung Electronics set up a packaging solution centre in its U.S. in July this year. The appointed director is Kim Woo-pyeong, who previously worked at Apple. Well, Apple did poach Kim Woo-pyeong from Qualcomm where he previously worked. Before Qualcomm, he was at Texas Instruments.
Regarding Samsung’s poaching of Kim Woo-pyeong from Apple, some experts believe that this is also unusual between the two companies. This is also Samsung’s poaching of important talents from Apple after many years. The last time was in 2012 when Samsung poached Luc Julia, director of Apple’s Siri project.
As the research and development of chip process technology become more difficult, the improvement of packaging technology has become a major breakthrough point for foundries. They are trying their best to improve packaging technology to overcome physical limitations. Packaging technology is also one of the areas that Samsung Electronics focuses on.
