For years, Apple was rumored to be working on a futuristic self-driving car, with the company tied to collaborations with Volkswagen and even a potential deal to buy McLaren at one point. That never happened and the project was canned after 10 years, but now it appears some of the tech developed by Apple's car program has found its way into cars built by another automaker.
The American tech giant wasn't in cahoots with VW or McLaren, it wasn't even working with its supplier Foxconn on its increasing endeavors into the automotive world. No, Apple was instead working with Chinese EV maker BYD, reports Bloomberg.
The iPhone maker reportedly worked with Chinese automaker BYD "for years," explains Bllomberg. The two companies co-developed long-range batteries that formed the basis for the kind of cells BYD uses in its models today:
BYD now uses the Blade battery tech across its entire lineup of electric cars, with a spokesperson for the company telling Bloomberg that it "holds complete property rights and patent rights for the Blade battery."
The tech is set apart in the way it arranges the lithium iron phosphate cells that BYD uses in its cars, explains Autoevolution. This was Apple's contribution to the project, the site reports, as it follows a similar method to how the tech giant stacks cells in products like its laptops:
Apple reportedly backed away from the collaboration with BYD and looked across the auto industry for another battery partner to work with. The search was short-lived, however, and the tech giant canned its quest to build a car of its own earlier this year after 10 years of work on the project.