For those who came in late, the iPhone maker's automotive efforts, known as Project Titan, have been an expensive joke. It all started in 2014 with shedloads of hype, but it rapidly became clear that Apple was out of its depth.  To pull off a stunt like this Apple needed to get a carmarker on its side, but Jobs' Mob honestly believed it was calling the shots and did its usual trick of asking an arm and leg from its partners. While that might have worked in the world of IT, it didn't work with the automakers who told Apple to go forth and multiply.

At one point, Apple drew back the effort to focus on software and reassessed its goals. Doug Field, an Apple veteran who had worked at Tesla Inc, returned to oversee the project in 2018 and laid off 190 people from the team in 2019.

Now it seems that the Tame Apple Press thinks this team has progressed enough that it now aims to build a vehicle for consumers. 

Central to Apple's strategy is a new battery design the Tame Apple Press thinks could "radically" reduce the cost of batteries and increase the vehicle's range. Although to be fair Apple's history with battery life has been a little over hyped too.

Apple plans to use a unique "monocell" design that bulks up the individual cells in the battery and frees up space inside the battery pack by eliminating pouches and modules that hold battery materials. Apple's design means that more active material can be packed inside the battery, giving the car a potentially longer range. Apple is also examining a chemistry for the battery called LFP, or lithium iron phosphate, the person said, which is inherently less likely to overheat and is thus safer than other types of lithium-ion batteries.

However the rumours claim that Apple is already behind schedule due to pandemic-related delays and production may not start until 2025 or beyond. Apple has decided to tap outside partners for elements of the system, including lidar sensors, which help self-driving cars get a three-dimensional view of the road, two people familiar with the company's plans said.

Apple's car might feature multiple lidar sensors for scanning different distances, another person said. Some sensors could be derived from Apple's internally developed lidar units, that person said. Apple's iPhone 12 Pro and iPad Pro models released this year both feature lidar sensors.

So far there is no news on which car maker is going to build the iCar.