When Apple announced their Maps application, many were expecting great things from the Cupertino company, but unfortunately that just did not materialize. In fact the app was so buggy that in some instances, it could not even provide the right direction! Thankfully over the years Apple has made various improvements, and now it seems that Apple could be thinking of taking Google or Microsoft on.
Recently there has been a report from CBS affiliate KPIX 5 (via MacRumors) of a mysterious car that has been traveling the streets in Concord, CA. The car is said to be leased to Apple and according to the photo above, there is a device attached to the roof of the car. Based on the device, some have speculated that it could be used in mapping projects.
While it is possible that it could be used to improve Apple’s map services, some have speculated that it was more likely that the vehicle could be used to create a new service similar to Google’s Street View or Bing StreetSide by Microsoft. Alternatively there are some who believes it could be a self-driving vehicle.
However given that Apple is not one of the companies who has the permits for testing self-driving cars, this seems a bit unlikely. In any case it is interesting to see what Apple could be up to, but hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to find out. In the meantime and to no one’s surprise, Apple has declined to comment on the matter.
[Image credit – Claycord]
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