It looks like we’ll be waiting a while for the next big product from Apple as their talks with Mercedes-Benz’s parent comapany , Daimler, and BMW turn sour.
The iCar is something a lot of people have been anticipating from the very popular tech firm, Apple. There has been a lot of talk over Apple finally advancing to produce a sophisticated smart car. They have plans to manufacture the smart vehicle in Germany but the two auto giants, Daimler and BMW, aren’t exactly on the same page with Apple.
Apple’s plan was to build a highly-networked electric car with autonomous-driving capabilities. But the issue with smart cars is they would be a lot like smart phones. As it is your phone stores a plethora amount of data on you, so smart cars would be no different. So the concern that arose in talks between Apple and these auto manufacturers is, who will be responsible for the collected data?
Much of the argument was of Daimler and BMW pushing for ownership and protectorship of data collected by these cars; however, Apple, granted their iCloud service, felt it was obvious they should be the ones who will take on this responsibility. But as Apple pushed back the talks continuously collapsed.
In this day in age of technology, data is pretty much the new gold. There is a lot of money in selling and collecting data, so I could see how this situation transpired between the three. But at the same time I could also reason with the auto giants’ arguments.
Since data is so valuable, these carmakers were really pent-up about the security of their customer’s data. If Apple were to experience a security breach in their data, and buyers of the iCar were to be compromised, a lot of fault would fall on the makers whose marks will be on these vehicles, Daimler and BMW.
When it comes to security in technological innovations, it is a very slippery slope. So in the end, I am actually glad that these talks fell apart the way they did because it emulates how they put the protection of their customers above all else.
Source: Handelsblatt
