Apple is finally a carmaker
I had a thought while I was watching the latest iPhone launch event—other than, “This is what I’m doing with my free time?”—and it’s that iPhones are basically cars. It finally did it. The real Project Titan was the iPhones Apple made along the way.
Ben Thompson wrote a piece on Stratechery where he was inspired by the “sugar water” Steve Jobs story, but I feel like we’re in beep-beep, vroom-vroom town for sure.
Every fall, we get a new model, and there’s always a debate about whether or not it’s a significant update or if there’s a new body style. Even though the iPhone 17 Pro is a totally new design, it maintains an overall appearance that’s evolutionary. There are also certain invisible updates in materials and processes that engineers are proud of but aren’t always apparent to buyers. It bonds the ceramic coating on at the factory, etc.
They’re still big changes, and Apple’s marketing team uses a lot of words for them, but it’s like expecting the general public to watch unveilings to get info on breakthroughs in adaptive dampers.
On a less savory note, Apple is also like an automaker in that we have big debates about how and where the products are manufactured. Where the jobs are and who can take credit for them, and economic investment. These conversations have recently been with people in very high places, where Tim Cook talks about all the good Apple does for America. It brings to mind the famous misquote of Charles Wilson:
Senator Hendrickson: Well now, I am interested to know whether if a situation did arise where you had to make a decision which was extremely adverse to the interests of your stock and General Motors Corp. or any of these other companies, or extremely adverse to the company, in the interests of the United States Government, could you make that decision?
Mr. Wilson: Yes, sir; I could. I cannot conceive of one because, for years, I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa. The difference did not exist. Our company is too big. It goes with the welfare of the country. Our contribution to the Nation is quite considerable.”
Apple even gets into anti-union shenanigans and regulatory capture, just like a real car company!
It even has a whole suite of financial services to help lower the barrier to iPhone sales, like the financial incentives offered for cars. With the iPhone Upgrade Program, you’re basically leasing.
Let’s look at what’s on the showroom floor:
- iPhone 16e is a decontented older mid-size SUV. Its backup camera is a lot worse. It offers a lower starting price and can be used to talk people into considering spending a little more for the iPhone 17.
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iPhone 17 is a mid-size SUV. You can haul your stuff and use it for work or personal needs. No one’s going to think negatively about you owning one.
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iPhone Air is a luxury compact electric car. It doesn’t have great range, and isn’t as practical, but it’s smart-looking and well-appointed. These buyers want to stand out a little.
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iPhone 17 Pro is the luxury full-size SUV. It can do anything, but it’s expensive and huge. Almost no one will use all the features it offers, but it’s comforting to know they’re there in case they suddenly need them.
Naturally, this means the general public treats smartphone buying like they treat car buying. Some people want the newest, fastest ones. Some people think the old, smaller ones were better. People will buy specific models just because they come in a certain color. Others don’t care about any of the details as long as it has cargo space and isn’t “too expensive.” Maybe the kid will get the old one because they’re going off to college.
I’m not saying that makes the iPhone bad, or that a lack of excitement is a sign of failure. It’s simply a mature commodity. Just as with cars, there will always be people who want the latest and the greatest. Either because they want the best, or they want the status.
Back in 2007-2011, the iPhone was breaking new ground in capability; in what was functionally possible with software that worked on a global, mobile internet. Today, the smartphone has been integrated into all of our lives as a commonplace thing. We live in a market saturated with devices that are as capable as new devices, even if they are objectively worse.
Apple might engineer the best, most efficient, most refined updates to the iPhone hardware, but there’s no functional difference to explain to buyers how Apple is revolutionizing what the customers are capable of doing.
Both Ben Thompson and Jason Snell highlight Apple’s inability to produce compelling AI software that can enhance what customers can do with new iPhones. I largely agree—it doesn’t have to be LLM chatbots, but Apple hasn’t offered any alternative ideas for improving everyday quality of life.
Apple could have put 512 neural cores in the A19 chip, and it wouldn’t really matter, because Apple can’t tell us how buying a phone with that chip would improve our lives other than generic benchmarking. They have the fastest lap time around the Nürburgring, but no one has a Nürburgring at home.
I hope people enjoy their current cars/iPhones if they choose to buy or lease one. And if you don’t choose to get one, I wouldn’t feel too bad about not being overwhelmed with excitement. The next time you need one, you’ll get one, and it’ll be the culmination of all the best tech you missed. Think of all the tech that’s trickled down in both cars and phones over the years. Just like that.
If you’re pumped, and you have your preorder up, and your Apple stickers on your rear windshield, then good for you. You’ll get the best car Apple has made yet.
[Joe Rosensteel is a VFX artist and writer based in Los Angeles.]
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