Yes it will quite possibly make people more insular (though I think you could also argue that with the owner not needing to give their attention to the road they could converse more freely with their passengers and if there is only one person in a car it isnt very sociable anyway) but Apple wont give a shit about that.
And I'm not saying that this will take over straight away. There will still be people who love driving and car culture. But even if you own a sweet Porsche you may not want to drive it everyday on a boring commute stuck in stop go traffic, when you could be having a cuppa and watching new Stampy videos on a full size computer in an autonomous car.
BUT; what will also happen, is that as autonomous vehicles become more common, the pressure will rise on people who want to drive themselves. Every car crash will become headline news and insurance for self-driving will sky rocket as insurance for autonomous cars plummets. Sooner or later there will be a move to ban people from driving themselves on the road unless a computer is able to monitor your driving and stop you getting into trouble.
The key difference here, is that while Google are looking at a Taxi type system, I think Apple will do something like what I describe because people want to "own" a car, that is theirs. They dont want to sit in a pool of vomit (or even be able to imagine that they are sitting where a pool of vomit was cleaned up from), but for most people what's under the floor and behind the dash is just an annoyance.
So by buying the space you sit in, you can control your environment completely, put in your favourite cushions, hell, you can have pot plants and maybe even a parrot or a cat in there if you want. If you are a workman you can have a pod with a little workshop in there, or all your tools. Get delivered to the job site in the morning and have access to everything you need without worrying about maintenance and fuel etc.
Apple can keep selling new pods in the same way that IKEA keep selling new furniture.
Pod1 has something like basic car seats with belts etc but you can spin the front seats round and have a little table between you and your passengers and do work etc.
Pod1s has a bigger boot/trunk and better wifi
Pod2 has seats that fold really flat and some new seat-belt innovation that makes this legal. Satellite internet for always on connection etc
Pod3 (launched after heavy lobbying of government) has fully fold flat beds and advanced airbags that make it OK to sleep without a seatbelt on. Better visibility and a viewing dome on the roof.
Pod4 intruduces a whole new level of comfort with seats that are more like home sofa's and sofabeds.
Pod5 introduces compatibility with the new longer wheelbase trolleys that allow a longer range and have hydropneumatic suspension for a more comfortable ride.
Pod6 uses innovative packaging design to make the most of the new longer trolleys to give more leg room, bigger boot space and room for a full size double bed and curtains etc...
Pod7 has a high enough roof to have a mirror ball and disco lighting.
And all the while they can do camper van versions, extendable ones, different sizes of trades vehicle bodies for locksmiths, auto mechanics, air conditioning repairers, kitchen fitters; burger vans, ice-cream trucks etc etc
They sell new phones every year just on the basis of a speed and screen increase, could do the same with pods where they can power more entertainment systems, or have massage chairs or any one of a million "upgrades" that you might have in your home.
One issue is that initially, there will be times when the computer might get stuck or confused.
When this happens, they will have "remote drive" where a guy in India can take remote control of the trolley to get it to a safe location or continue driving you until it clears the difficult bit or a replacement trolley can get to you.
If you put together what is out there already. Google's car, the military's autonomous army trucks and drones, tesla's cars then it is all very possible. You can roll it out in California initially and get a huge take up. If you are heading out of state then you can rent a car, and if you cover the whole state that would be "fine" for a hell of a lot of people. You can sell probably 5 pods for every trolley you make and get a huge adoption (probably as fast as you can make them). Then roll it out across the whole west coast, then east and finally virtually nationwide within 5 years. Canada would be easy, Most of Europe (outside actual city centres) would be easy, and by then you can have figured out a solution for people who dont have parking spaces. Probably a folding pod that is only a couple of feet long when not in use and can be stored in your yard with its own tiny wheels that are just enough to get it out on the street for trolley docking..
G.
Topic: Apple's iCar or whatever.. (Read 35577 times)
