Federal Judge Blocks Pentagon's Blacklisting of AI Company Anthropic 
Apple Defies China's Smartphone Slump with Strong Early 2026 Sales 
SMIC Allegedly Supplies Chipmaking Tools to Iran's Military, U.S. Officials Warn 
Meta and Google just lost a landmark social media addiction case. A tech law expert explains the fallout 
Chinese Universities with PLA Ties Found Purchasing Restricted U.S. AI Chips Through Super Micro Servers 
Jeff Bezos Eyes $100 Billion Fund to Transform Manufacturing With AI 
Judge Dismisses Sam Altman Sexual Abuse Lawsuit, But Sister Can Refile 
AWS Bahrain Region Disrupted by Drone Activity Amid Middle East Conflict 
SK Hynix Eyes Up to $14 Billion U.S. IPO to Fund AI Chip Expansion 
OpenAI Pulls the Plug on Sora, Ending $1 Billion Disney Partnership 
Meta Ties Executive Pay to Aggressive Stock Price Targets in Major Retention Push 
Makemation: a Nollywood movie that shows AI in action in Africa 
Nintendo Switch 2 Production Cut as Holiday Sales Miss Targets 
Trump White House Unveils National AI Policy Framework for Congress 
NVIDIA's Feynman AI Chip May Face Redesign Amid TSMC Capacity Crunch 
Nanya Technology Shares Surge 10% After $2.5 Billion Private Placement from Sandisk and Cisco 
Apple has reportedly started having discussions with potential suppliers of LiDAR for its future self-driving vehicle. However, the company is said to be eyeing a next-generation variant of the sensor hinting at Apple Car’s possible release window.
Apple is looking for LiDAR sensor suppliers for its self-driving car
It appears that the use of LiDAR scanner on iPad Pro tablets and iPhone 12 Pro models last year will not be the last time for Apple. Bloomberg reported that the company is actively having discussions with “mutliple suppliers” that could eventually provide them with the laser-based sensors.
LiDAR is poised to become one of the most crucial components for the upcoming self-driving car. While the sensor is mainly used for low-light photography and augmented reality scanning on the iPhone 12 Pro, it will serve practically as the Apple Car’s eyes on the road.
Going by this report, this means the company has pretty much settled on using LiDAR as the main sensors of the so-called Apple Car. But the ongoing talks also mean many details have yet to be finalized, including which manufacturer would supply it to them.
Procuring LiDAR for the self-driving Apple Car is also more complicated than getting the sensors for iPhone 12 Pro. And Apple is likely eyeing a customized version of the sensor since the company is also developing its own software and algorithms for the vehicle.
Apple Car launching happening in 5 years?
Earlier this month, one of the leading members of the Apple Car development and was identified as a key figure in the sensors team has left the company. Therefore, the report that Apple is already searching for potential LiDAR suppliers is, overall, a good sign. But it also does not mean the self-driving vehicle will be unveiled anytime soon.
Apple is reportedly looking to use a next-generation LiDAR technology expected to be ready within four to five years. This corresponds with earlier speculations that the Apple Car might not be ready for mass production or official launch until the latter part of the decade.
The Apple Car is also widely anticipated to be an electric vehicle. However, there is not much information known about the company plans for the battery specs at this point.
Featured photo by MichaelGaida on Pixabay
