Apple’s faltered self-driving car program departed a legacy of powerful AI chips
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The company is accelerating development of the M7 Ultra, which could support up to 1.5TB of RAM.
Key facts
- Instead, it’s accelerating development of the M7, which should arrive in the first half of 2027 with significant Neural Engine upgrades
- The company is accelerating development of the M7 Ultra, which could support up to 1.5TB of RAM
- While the car processor was never finished, as Mark Gurman details in his latest Power On newsletter, it did lead to the development of the Neural Engine, the backbone of Apple’s on-device AI
- While Apple’s AI software efforts have lagged behind the rest of the industry, its hardware has been impressive
Summary
Apple’s self-driving car program never got off the ground, but it may have been what made the company’s chips the powerful AI performers they are. The Neural Engine made its debut with the iPhone X and the A11 Bionic. But by laying the groundwork for on-device AI processing, Apple established itself as an early leader by bringing the Neural Engine to desktops with the M-series chips. Apple is making its AI hardware a cornerstone of its strategy going forward. Apple’s failed self-driving car program left a legacy of powerful AI chips.