However, as the tech giant begins testing what it calls "Project Titan", it is expected that more details regarding the autonomous vehicle and its technology will be revealed in due time. In early 2016, CEO Tim Cook fielded a question at the company's annual shareholder meeting about developing a auto, to which he provided a cryptic response that neither confirmed nor denied the project.
There are whispers going around that Apple is developing and maturing its secret automotive project at a facility which is simply known as "SG5", located in Sunnyvale, California.
Speculation about Apple's interest in expanding into automobiles began swirling in 2015 amid media reports that the company had begun secretly working on building its own electric vehicle under the name project "Titan".
Although it has never openly acknowledged it is looking into building an electric vehicle, Apple has recruited dozens of auto experts in recent years, and the permit pulls the curtain back a bit on any possible plan.
While big-players like Google (via Waymo) and Uber have generated a lot of publicity over their autonomous vehicle technology, with Apple this has been more of the case of rumor without substance.
Uber recently made a decision to temporally "put the breaks", so to speak, on testing driverless cars due to a crash in Arizona, according to Bloomberg Technology.
No indication Cleveland suspect in Philadelphia
A Cleveland man has been accused of uploading footage of the killing to Facebook, and police haven't been able to find him since. A manhunt is underway in several states, including MI , to find the man wanted for murdering Robert Godwin Sr.in Cleveland .
With its new permit to test self-driving vehicles, Apple has joined the likes of Google, Tesla, GM, Ford and BMW, which are already testing their respective autonomous vehicle technologies.
Self-driving cars could also be a lucrative new market.
As per The Verge report, "Late past year, Apple submitted a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in which it said that it was "investing heavily in the study of machine learning and automation, and is excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation".
The original vision of building a whole "Apple Car" may have been diluted by the realities of actually engineering the hardware, which arguably falls well outside Apple's design expertise in consumer technology. Last year, Apple hired the former CEO of QNX, Dan Dodge, to develop the software for Project Titan. However, after the departure of key employees working on the project, Apple appointed Bob Mansfield as the new project chief a year ago.
The disagreement among Apple watchers might just be a reflection of disagreement on the issue within Apple.
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