Today's Apple is no longer a strong person who doesn't need to do multiple-choice questions.
Is Apple's ten-year dream of making cars shattered? According to foreign media reports cited by China News Agency, insiders revealed that Apple is canceling its plan to manufacture electric vehicles and abandoning one of the most ambitious projects in the company's history. According to reports, Apple's decision surprised nearly 2000 employees in its car manufacturing project.
It is understood that many employees of Apple's automotive team will be transferred to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) department, and these employees will focus on generative AI projects, which is also an increasingly important priority for the company. Currently, Apple has not provided a public or formal response to this matter.
This news was not only unexpected for employees, but also for the entire market. Not only did Lei Jun, Li Xiang, He Xiaopeng, and others involved in car manufacturing in China express their opinions on social media, but Lei Jun even exclaimed "shocked". Tesla CEO Musk also congratulated Apple on this decision in an article.
To this day, the market has not forgotten the disruptive consequences of Steve Jobs's involvement in the mobile phone industry. He almost created a brand new industry, known as the "iPhone Moment," and even eliminated traditional phone giants like Nokia.
Nowadays, electric vehicles are undoubtedly one of the biggest market hotspots, so Apple's exit will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the market.
Awkwardly choosing between two options
From the current situation, although this matter is still in the stage of "insider disclosure" and Apple has not officially announced it, the market reaction is not small.
In the US stock market, after the news broke out, Apple's stock price instantly turned from a decline to an increase, indicating a certain approving attitude of the capital market towards Apple's cancellation of its car making plan. Apple has not produced a car for ten years, and the capital market has also lost patience.
In fact, there are already signs of Apple adjusting its car manufacturing plan. At the beginning of this year, Apple decided to postpone the target release date for electric vehicles, from the earliest official launch of electric vehicles in 2026 to the earliest official launch in 2028. In addition, Apple has lowered the intelligent driving level of this car from L4 to L2+.
Apple's loyal consumers may be disappointed with its abandonment of car manufacturing, but the thoughts of Apple's executives and capital markets are much more complex. The reason is that in the current rapidly changing market environment, whether Apple makes cars or not is no longer a necessary topic, but has become a helpless choice.
Apple's entry into the automotive industry undoubtedly has enormous market imagination, but it also faces another equally huge challenge and task: artificial intelligence.
That is to say, Apple must choose which trend has a higher success rate, which trend will be more related to Apple's future destiny, and which trend should not be lost? Then make decisions to concentrate superior forces in the battle of annihilation. Now it seems that the answer is about to be revealed.
For Apple, this itself is an awkward situation. Because true powerhouses do not do multiple-choice questions, but today's Apple must face a choice between two. This also reflects Apple's weakness in the field of innovation after Steve Jobs passed away.
The crowded car making track
After Cook took over, Apple was commendable in creating value for shareholders. Several generations of smartphones sold well, but they never launched any disruptive innovative products, which is also a fact. More importantly, Apple has not been able to take the lead in both electric vehicles and artificial intelligence.
Apple's entry into the automotive industry is actually not too late. As early as 2014, Apple proposed the Project Titan to enter the automotive industry, but ten years have passed and Apple cars are still far away.
Looking back, the electric vehicle industry has already become a red ocean, and this track is somewhat crowded: Tesla dominates the market in the United States; In China across the coast, there are even more powerful figures rising together, each leading the way.
In the field of artificial intelligence, Apple is also facing a similar situation. Apple's foray into artificial intelligence was not too late. The last generation product that Steve Jobs participated in before his death, the iPhone 4S, introduced the concept of intelligent voice assistants for the first time, which also sparked a trend among mobile phone manufacturers.
But Apple's market leadership in the AI field seems to have come to an end. Later, ChatGPT emerged and the AI big language model market exploded. Various applications such as Wensheng Images and Wensheng Videos followed suit, and Apple seemed indifferent.
On the mobile end, various Android manufacturers are laying out Edge AI, which means transferring AI from the remote end to the end side (mobile end). Edge AI technology is likely to stimulate a series of major innovations in the smartphone industry, but Apple has remained calm and has yet to receive any relevant news.
The Battle of Apple
If it were Apple at the peak of the Steve Jobs era, perhaps there was no need to choose between car manufacturing and artificial intelligence, and they could move forward on both legs in sync. Because at that time, Apple was a lone wolf and strong enough, and because it took the lead, it didn't need to allocate too many resources to fiercely compete in the Red Sea market.
But unfortunately, now that Apple has lost the initiative, we must consider whether we have the energy to engage in a two front battle. Which of the two important air vents is more important? What would be more fatal if missed? This is a question that Apple must consider.
The answer is actually very clear: AI is more deadly for Apple. According to reports, insiders have also revealed that many employees engaged in automotive research and development will be transferred to the artificial intelligence department after exiting the electric vehicle project. These employees will focus on generative artificial intelligence projects, which is an increasingly important priority for the company.
In China, some electric vehicle operators also believe that Apple's choice to focus on artificial intelligence is the right strategic choice. Artificial intelligence will become the top-level entry point for all devices, services, applications, and transactions, and is Apple's battleground. The necessary condition for the great success of automobiles is still artificial intelligence. The electrification of cars is the first half, and artificial intelligence is the final.
Of course, it should still be emphasized that as long as Apple does not make an official announcement, there is still room for a turnaround in the fate of Apple cars. After all, Apple has yet to publicly respond to this matter, and it is unclear whether this was intentionally released by Apple to test market reactions.
However, one thing is certain: today's Apple is no longer the strong one who doesn't need to do multiple-choice questions. This also reflects Apple's true market position.
Once upon a time, Apple was as powerful as an empire, and just 6 years ago, it was also the first company in history with a market value exceeding trillions of dollars. But to this day, as several trends have been missed one after another, Microsoft is also vying for the position of "the world's largest company by market value", and behind it, emerging AI forces such as Nvidia are accelerating their pursuit.
This actually reminds entrepreneurs that in today's world of great changes, the transition between strength and weakness is becoming increasingly simple and fast. As the saying goes, "its rise is also flourishing, its fall is also sudden." On the road of management, one should be even more cautious and diligent.