Apple’s Five Projects for the Future

When rumors started to fly around that Apple was working on some sort of technology associated with cars, the world united in excitement at the prospect of an iCar hitting the streets. But as more details have emerged – and most are still just hearsay – it appears the plans for so-called ‘Project Titan’ are less ambitious than a whole car. The general consensus in the technology industry is that either Apple is building an operating system for a vehicle, or software for driverless cars. Or maybe both. Apple is registered to test self-driving cars in California and published research on the technology in 2017, so there’s a strong likelihood that some kind of driverless-car system will emerge in the coming years.

Apple has so far resisted moving into virtual reality space currently occupied by the likes of Facebook (via Oculus) and Samsung. But that could soon change. There have been rumors for over a year that Apple is working on a headset that can be used for both augmented reality and virtual reality.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly praised augmented reality, saying the technology could potentially be as important as the iPhone. According to Cnet, Apple is working on a headset that would be capable of running both AR and VR technology, and would have an 8K display for each eye; that’s a resolution higher than the best TVs you can buy today. The device will not rely on a smartphone or computer, according to the reports.

The project is codenamed T288 and is still in the early stages, with an expected release date of some time in 2020.

Apple’s laptop offerings are considered among the best, and it’s hard to beat the iPad for tablets. But the company has never merged the two. There are multiple laptop/tablet hybrids on the market, and having a touchscreen on a device with the power of a laptop is proving a more popular feature among manufacturers. A report from one of the many websites dedicated to all things Apple, 9to5 Mac, suggests the company is working on a new line of computers under the code name Star, which will be a hybrid touchscreen computer. Rumors, as ever, are hazy, so don’t be surprised if this ends up being a new feature for an iPhone or iPad instead.

Healthcare isn’t something you’d necessarily associate with Apple (or most consumer technology companies), but, frustrated by the lack of options for employees and their families, Apple has begun setting up medical clinics of its own. A report by CNBC suggests the clinics will operate under the name AC Wellness, and both will be in Santa Clara County. The company already has a Wellness Center in its headquarters in Cupertino.

Apple has come under fire in the past for the conditions of the factories where the company outsources its manufacturing to. Some in America have also criticized the company for not manufacturing enough in its home country. But the company may soon be moving towards building its own devices. As Bloomberg reported in 2018, Apple is designing and producing its own device displays for the first time. A secret manufacturing facility near its California headquarters is making small numbers of screens for testing purposes, according to the report. Apple also announced at the start of 2018 the company has increased its US manufacturing budget from $1 billion to $5 billion, potentially creating 20,000 jobs and contributing over $350 billion to the US economy in the next five years.