Apple cars (again)

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I typed a post over at Shrewdm.com which landed with a thud (it was on the Berkshire board, which might explain it. Or not.) So I thought I’d try it here.

Tim Cook is gone, the new guy is taking over, probably shopping around for “the next big thing.” I offer “automobiles.”

Yes, I know they looked at that and after blowing a billion or ten dismissed it, but I think it deserves another look.

BYD and other Chinese manufacturers have a gigantic lead in EVs, but the US is simply prohibiting them or tariffing them out of existence in this country for one of two reasons, so far as I can see.

  1. The “threat” of Chinese softwares, and vehicles driving about snapping pictures perhaps of military installations, maybe of other infrastructures, possibly of blond politicians cavorting with young assistants, you never know. Or

  2. The threat to the American car industry, jobs, etc.

I’d like to see Apple offer to partner with a Chinese company (or two) and strip out all Chinese software and fire up the legendary Apple code team to replace it all with good ole’ “Made In The USA” code, thereby making objection #1 irrelevant.Frankly, I suspect that would play well in Canada, Mexico, the EU and other places where Chinese antipathy might present a problem. And surely there’s nothing that Chinese bits can do that other home-grown code can’t, right?

Objection #2 is harder, as the UAW is sure to have a conniption fit, and who could blame them.

On the other hand, there is surely enough margin between what Chinese vehicles are selling for in China vs the competition on this side of the Pacific to allow a joint venture, giving BYD et al a foothold in the Western market and allowing Apple to get in the automobile business - which I point out is, by revenue, ore than triple that of the cell phone manufacturing business. (Yes, margins are lower, but then such a partnership would keep all the capital intensive stuff (like the metal) off Apple’s books, and they would only handle the softwares, which would be incredibly high margin.

Anyway, “CarPlay” is never gonna be a big deal, at least big enough to matter. This could.

Given what I read about Chinese tech and the cars now being produced there, I can imagine a line at dealerships (direct model sales?) out the door, similar to what happened when the iPhone appeared. And who wouldn’t want a sleek EV, rebadged with an Apple logo on it? Or, of course, people could continue to turn up their nose at a Chevy Bolt, and with some justification.

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Well, the new guy in charge is an engineer, so that may well be the next thing for them to dive into… But, I doubt that market studies would show it a viable product when there are already so many decent options already in production… I just hope it never happens, all it would do is drain resources… Unless some radical technology boost comes along, it’s still a pipe dream…

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Tim Cook destroyed Mac. Good riddance.

I don’t. Revive Mac.

The Captain

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It is an interesting idea.

Separate the hardware (the metal, the wiring, the electronic displays, even the chips) from the software that drives the vehicle.

I have long said I will not buy another car that does not have integrated Android Auto because I find so much value in that full integration over some lesser proprietary auto-designed nav and sound system. As loyal as Apple users are, I think there could be a strong market for an Apple car with all the fancy Chinese bells and whistles - but none of the Chinese software.

I am not an Apple user but color me interested - even more so if I can get it in one of the cooler cars coming out of BYD these days.

BYD opens orders for its new flagship EV with over 1,000 km [600+ miles] of range for under $40,000

https://electrek.co/2026/08/24/byd-opens-flagship-ev-orders-with-1000-km-range-under-40k/

Look at the pics of this thing! This is a $90k c-suite car for $40k. 400 miles on less than 10 minutes of charge too.

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How was the Mac destroyed? There are still many models of the Mac being sold.

What does reviving it mean?

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I was an Apple reseller since 1980 and a certified Mac Developer from its introduction. We created Mac software that we exhibited at MacWorld. I had a copy of the original (pre 1987) Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines. For decades it was a pleasure to use and write code for Mac. After Cook took over Mac has had a serious case of FEATURITIS!

GoogleAI:

Featuritis—also known as creeping featurism or software bloat—is the continuous addition of extra features to a product until it becomes overly complex and hard to use. [1, 2]

What is Featuritis?

  • Core definition: Adding more functions past the basic use case.
  • Common results: Cluttered interfaces, user confusion, decision fatigue, and bloated software.
  • The curve: As explained in Featuritis & Cognitive Overload, user happiness rises with features until it hits a threshold, after which extra complexity ruins the experience. [1, 2, 3]

Why It Happens

  • Siloed teams: Different departments add their own ideas without a unified vision.
  • Engineering pressure: Building new things feels productive even if users do not need them.
  • Scope creep: Small additions pile up over time into massive structural weight. [1, 2, 3, 4]

How to Cure It

  • Simplify and curate: Cut low-use functions and focus strictly on what the usage data shows people value.
  • Create modes: Offer a simple beginner mode alongside advanced tools for power users.
  • Listen closely: Run open-ended user interviews to find the real core problems worth solving.
  • Read Jakob Nielsen’s analysis on When More Features Degrade User Experience. [1, 2, 3, 4]

A Mac dealer in Porto told me that Mac is having problems with the touch bar

GoogleAI:

Yes, the dealer is accurate: hardware-level Touch Bar failures are a widespread, documented issue in older MacBook Pro models (specifically 13-inch, 15-inch, and 16-inch models built between 2016 and 2022). Because Apple has completely phased out the Touch Bar in favor of physical function keys, these aging devices frequently exhibit common wear-and-tear symptoms. [1]

Common Touch Bar Failure Symptoms

  • The “Rave/Strobe” Effect: The Touch Bar begins flashing wildly or flickering with a blinding white or green light. This is usually caused by physical degradation of the OLED strip or damage to its delicate internal flex cable.
  • Completely Black/Dead Strip: The Mac operates perfectly, but the Touch Bar is entirely dark and unresponsive.
  • Ghost Touches: The digitizer misbehaves, causing apps to open or functions to trigger on their own without being pressed. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The Core Dilemma: Repair Costs

If the issue is hardware-related, repairing it can be disproportionately expensive relative to the value of the laptop. Official Apple repairs dictate replacing the entire top case assembly—which groups the Touch Bar, keyboard, trackpad, and battery together into a single component. [1]

  • Out-of-warranty replacement through Apple typically costs $500+ (€450+).
  • The Battery Pro-Tip: If your Mac’s battery health is degraded and you qualify for a standard battery replacement (~$249 / €230), Apple swaps the same top case assembly, which inadvertently gives you a brand-new Touch Bar for half the price. [1]

Step-by-Step DIY Troubleshooting

Before paying for a major hardware repair, you should rule out a temporary software crash using these steps:

1. Force-Restart the Touch Bar via Terminal

Often, the system background process managing the strip simply crashes. [1]

  1. Open Terminal (via Spotlight by pressing Cmd + Space and typing Terminal).
  2. Paste the following command exactly and press Enter:
    sudo pkill TouchBarServer; sudo killall ControlStrip
  3. Type your Mac’s login password (no characters will show as you type) and hit Enter. The Touch Bar will instantly blank out and reload. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

2. Check Keyboard Settings

Make sure a system update didn’t accidentally change your display preference: [1, 2]

  1. Go to System Settings > Keyboard.
  2. Click on Touch Bar Settings.
  3. Ensure “Touch Bar shows” is set to App Controls and “Show Control Strip” is toggled ON. [1, 2, 3]

3. Reset the SMC (For Intel-based MacBooks)

If you have an older Intel Mac (pre-2020), resetting the System Management Controller fixes low-level power delivery bugs to components like the Touch Bar: [1, 2]

  1. Shut down your Mac completely.
  2. On the left side of the keyboard, press and hold Control + Option + Shift, then press and hold the Power Button.
  3. Keep all four keys held down for 7 seconds, then release them.
  4. Turn on your Mac normally. (Note: If your Mac has an Apple Silicon M1 or M2 chip, simply shutting the laptop down completely for 30 seconds acts as a reset). [, 2]

What to Do Next in Porto

If software steps do not fix it, you are dealing with a permanent hardware fault. Since you are in Porto, you have two primary routes: [1]

  • Official Apple Route: Book an appointment at an Apple Authorized Service Provider like GMS Store(located in NorteShopping or Centro Comercial Colombo) or Fnac to get an official diagnostic check. [1]
  • Local Repair Route: If you want a cheaper alternative that might offer a component-level logic board repair or standalone Touch Bar patch, check out highly rated independent repair centers in the city like Megabit Porto. [1]

The Captain

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There is no question that iOS in its many flavors has fallen victim to this, and perhaps Jobs would have prevented it, but I doubt it. (He surely would have slowed it, but some things are unstoppable, like Apps, for instance, which he originally decreed could only be written by Apple but was subsumed under a tsunami of independent works.)

I don’t blame that solely on Tim, I’d also look to the people running the software team - but the reality is almost everyone in the tech world thinks “If we can do it then we’re gonna do it.” It’s hard to say “not enough people want that” until you put it in and find out, and then it becomes part of the feature set and is hard to take back out.

No, I give Tim kudos for shepherding Apple thru the trauma of losing Steve Jobs, and growing the franchise by size in the years that followed, navigating production in China, moving some out, and being cautious in chasing every new fad, although that made it late on many, not that any harm came from that.

But revolutionary products? Not really. OTOH, I can ‘t think of man y that have turned the world upside down since 2008 either, and which might have come from the Apple wheelhouse, so there’s that.

Ah, but a slick Apple branded EV, with Apple iOS on the dashboard. What better way to enlarge the ecosystem and push Android further out of relevance?

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I think you underrate Jobs.

Cook has the incentive to prioritize the iPhone but Jobs has the pride of creation.

The Captain

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I’d hardly call 70% of the mobile device market “out of relevance”!

[ EDIT: ok, perhaps you only meant the U.S. market, where Android is indeed in the minority. ]

From Gemini:

  1. Active Users: Android has roughly 3.9 to 4.5 billion active devices globally, compared to 1.46 to 1.8 billion active iOS users.
  2. Worldwide Market Share: Android powers around StatCounter 67%–71% of mobile devices globally, while iOS sits near 28%–32%.
  3. Regional Splits: Android dominates emerging markets like India (95%+) and Bangladesh (96%). iOS leads strongly in the United States, controlling roughly 57% to 59% of the US market.

I remember Jobs famously boasting that Apple “patented the hell” out of the iPhone and iOS, but I don’t think they ever won a patent dispute over the copying of the look and feel of iOS, at least not one that significantly added to their bottom line.

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Denny see you still around. I only visit infrequently these days. How are you. Hope you got out of enph near the top? Wow, we go way back, as does Goofy, i see still going strong and well. Think you moved to Portugal Captain? Hope you all well. Us old farts hanging in there. Can you believe it will be 30 years or so soon from the old days of TMF.

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Nope. Lost money on shares and made money on options for a net positive.

Socialism, communism, dictatorship, and Cuban colonialism made life in Venezuela impossible. The ruin of a lovely country that treated my family extremely well. I wish I could return.

Twenty something for me but I no longer follow Apple. What are you up to?

The Captain

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I remember that we discussed this extensively a few years ago. And I thought I explained reasonably well why it is a bad idea. In short, the reason it is a bad idea is because the automobile business is simply NOT a good business. It inevitably ends up becoming a continuous capex business that never results in enough margin for long enough (before new massive capex is required). Why on earth would a company that is used to 30+% margins enter a business that usually languishes at single digit margins, and only during the best of times might just barely reach double digit margins for a short time. Why?

It’s a business best left to companies that tolerate low margins, and that require government involvement to scrape by, and that even sometimes require large bailouts to remain alive.

So, no, it doesn’t deserve a second look.

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Because the low margin part of the business would rest on China’s books, and high margin software and brand part would live on Apple’s.

The software is write once, use over and over in a million cars. (With yearly updates, obviously, just like iPhones, etc.) The metal is refine the metal, stamp the metal, paint the metal, assemble the metal, bring suppliers in for glass, rubber, lubricants, etc. for each and every car. That’s the part of the business that sucks.

Put US written software in, no more objection about Chinese surveillance. That’s why.

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Just getting older and hanging in there. 4 more years with Apple or sooner, if hits my target and that should do it for me. Can’t believe that I had Nvda at 38(early Saul days and he wouldn’t touch it) and sold at 110. Thought I was very clever :face_with_peeking_eye: Such is life. All good though.

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Sorry for this delayed response to your comment.

I bought Xiaomi shares when they first announced their EV a few years back. There are some similarities as Xiaomi had already established itself as a prominent Chinese cellphone maker. They also have an extensive consumer electronics presence and tout their ecosystem within China.

At first, this was a real boon to Xiaomi’s share price, though I question whether Xiaomi shares at any time have ever commanded a premium comparable to Apple. Xiaomi share price has subsequently leveled out and now my shares are up barely 25% over my purchase price.

I honestly can’t even guess if a similar move by Apple would fare better or worse. With CarPlay, it seems Apple is reaping most benefits already on including cars in their ecosystem.

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