- According to Bloomberg, Apple's most advanced backup control for its car prototype looked like an Xbox controller.
- CEO Tim Cook tested the prototype in 2020, and he and other executives were impressed, the outlet said.
- However, Apple canceled its top-secret self-driving electric car project on February 28th.
According to Bloomberg, Apple's now-failed self-driving car at one point had a backup control system similar to a video game controller in place of a steering wheel.
The controller, part of a prototype that CEO Tim Cook tested in 2020, resembled “the controller that comes with an Xbox,” Bloomberg reporters Mark Garman and David Bennett wrote.
The prototype, dubbed a “loaf of bread” by employees because of its minivan shape, is the most fully developed backup control system, the newspaper reported.
Apple executives wanted the car to be fully self-driving, and the controller was meant for when the car got stuck in a particularly difficult situation, Bloomberg reported.
It's unclear whether this version of the Apple car will ship. The tech giant scrapped its ambitious EV plans on February 27, after nearly a decade of work under the secretive Project Titan.
Bloomberg's in-depth feature on the project details how the team cycled through various designs, including one after the “Bread Loaf,” which was internally called the “I-Beam.”
But this “breadloaf” deeply impressed Cook and other Apple executives, and after test driving the car, they wanted it to have the most sophisticated self-driving software possible. At the time, Apple engineers weren't sure they could achieve this technology. , according to Bloomberg.
The company has changed course on this strategy at least once, opting in January to move to Level 2 autonomy, which allows drivers to temporarily take their hands off the steering wheel.
This is a far cry from Apple's original automotive ambitions. According to Bloomberg, the company expected the EV to navigate independently without the need for human input, or what is known as Level 5.
The outlet reported that Apple spent about $1 billion a year on the project.
Apple did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment outside normal business hours.