China News Service, Beijing, February 29 (Reporter Liu Yuying) The news that Apple has stopped its electric vehicle project "Project Titan" and shifted its focus to artificial intelligence shocked the industry.

Some people in the technology circle said that although the "ten-year dream" was shattered, this was the right choice to follow the trend.

　　According to reports, Apple announced this week that it will cancel the car project and more than 2,000 employees will gradually transfer to artificial intelligence projects.

Tesla CEO Musk, Li Auto CEO Li Xiang, and Xiaomi founder Lei Jun all expressed their opinions on the matter.

　　There have been early signs of Apple’s setbacks in building cars.

In 2022, Apple lowered its target to launch L4 autonomous driving in 2026 and abandoned the L5 autonomous driving route.

In January 2023, Apple once again adjusted the direction of car manufacturing and lowered the vehicle's autonomous driving level from L4 to L2+, delaying it by another two years from 2026 to 2028.

　　Some people believe that electric vehicles are still full of opportunities, but many celebrities in the technology circle believe that adding AI (artificial intelligence) is the only way to go.

Li Xiang said that Apple’s decision to give up building cars and focus on artificial intelligence is the absolutely right strategic choice and the time is right.

Zhou Hongyi, founder of 360, said that every company must embrace AI, and companies that do not embrace AI will be killed in the future.

　　Why did Apple give up building cars?

Liu Xingliang, a digital economist and director of the DCCI Internet Research Institute, told a reporter from China News Service that the technical barriers in the automotive industry are extremely high, especially in electric vehicles and autonomous driving technology.

Apple may face significant challenges in technology development, and given Apple's success and profitability in smartphones, computers, services, and other areas, the company may decide to refocus resources and attention on these areas.

　　In addition, the electric vehicle market is becoming increasingly competitive, with traditional automakers such as Tesla, Volkswagen, and BMW and emerging electric vehicle companies expanding rapidly.

Liu Xingliang said that if Apple wants to gain a place in such a market, it needs to come up with innovative and competitive products.

　　Some people also believe that Apple has a rich reserve of vehicle manufacturing patents and its supply chain has been deployed in the automotive field. Therefore, it is not difficult to build a car, but making money is difficult.

　　Adding more AI is considered the only way forward.

Apple gave up building cars and transferred its team to artificial intelligence projects, which is also in line with the current trend of artificial intelligence in mobile phones.

　　On January 31, Samsung’s new generation flagship artificial intelligence phone Galaxy S24 was officially launched. One million units were sold in South Korea in just 28 days after its launch. Its online real-time voice and text translation function is amazing and currently supports 13 languages.

　　China's leading mobile phone manufacturers are all focusing on artificial intelligence.

Since August 2023, a number of mobile phone manufacturers, including Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo and Honor, have successively launched their own mobile terminal-side models through cooperation or self-research.

　　Meng Pu, chairman of Qualcomm China, said that implementing AI from the cloud has many applications. If AI can be implemented on the device side, privacy protection related to individuals can be better achieved.

The commercialization process of terminal-side AI has begun.

　　AI mobile phones have broad prospects.

IDC (International Data Corporation) initially predicts that by the end of 2024, the shipment volume of next-generation AI smartphones will reach 170 million units, accounting for nearly 15% of total smartphone shipments, a significant increase from 51 million units in 2023 .

　　Regarding the path of AI mobile phones, Zhang Jun, Product Director of OPPO AI Center, believes that AI mobile phones require a full-stack layout, including the hardware level, operating system level, and underlying software architecture level.

　　Apple has not publicly elaborated on how to integrate and optimize AI technology in its future smartphones, but its possible strategies and directions can be speculated based on its historical product development concepts, market trends, and the latest technological developments.

　　Liu Xingliang believes that this may include: strengthening core AI functions including Siri, integration of generative AI applications, enhanced privacy protection, application of AI in health and fitness applications, smart home and Internet of Things (IoT) integration, AI Further development of chips.

　　According to media reports, Apple plans to launch a series of tools based on generative artificial intelligence at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which may include improvements to Siri.

　　Apple has many advantages such as ecology, system, and users.

Li Xiang said that artificial intelligence will become the top-level entry point for all devices, services, applications, and transactions, and it is a must-win for Apple.

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