Apple Board Member Mickey Drexler on Steve Jobs' iCar Dreams, Apple's Living Room Push

apple carSpeaking at Fast Company's Innovation Uncensored conference earlier this week, J. Crew CEO and Apple board member Mickey Drexler shared his thoughts (via Business Insider) on several topics related to Apple, including Steve Jobs' dream to build an "iCar" that would have revolutionized the automobile industry. While the idea obviously never developed very far, it is an intriguing glimpse into Jobs' interests and ambitions.

Drexler also mentioned in passing that Apple will be making a push into the living room "in the near future", fueling further interest in and speculation on an Apple television set and perhaps ultimately content deals that could remake how television content is consumed.

Look at the car business – it's a tragedy in America. Who's designing the cars? They talk about expense, they talk about this, and then you say 'Who's designing the cars?'

Steve's dream before he died was to design an iCar. It would have been probably 50% of the market. He never did design it. In the fashion business, you know, Apple has ten products and then they leave alone...the living room they're dealing with at some point in the near future.

Drexler closed with a quip about how difficult it is to take over a company that is doing well, comparing his move to take over struggling J. Crew nearly a decade ago with Tim Cook's move to the CEO position at Apple.

(Photo via Flickr/juanpol)

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

18 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Wednesday November 27, 2024 5:05 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in early December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as...
iphone 16 pro models 1

12 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Friday November 29, 2024 5:17 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Rectangle Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Already Rumored to Have These 8 New Features

Wednesday November 27, 2024 12:19 pm PST by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch for 10 more months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. An imaginative iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models so far: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro ...
Whatsapp Feature

WhatsApp to Drop Support for These iPhones Starting May 2025

Monday December 2, 2024 2:57 am PST by
WhatsApp is set to end support for iOS versions older than iOS 15.1 from May next year, removing the chat platform's compatibility with several iPhone models in the process. From May 5, 2025, WhatsApp will no longer be compatible with iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus models. Users with those devices won't be able to access the encrypted chat service after the specified date unless they ...
Apple AI Command Center Concept Mock 3

Apple Expected to Launch This All-New Device Next Year

Wednesday November 27, 2024 1:05 pm PST by
Apple is expected to kick off 2025 by launching an all-new smart home hub, also referred to as a "command center," as early as March. The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. The device is said to run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and it is expected...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 17 Designs Revealed!

Friday November 29, 2024 9:34 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the recently leaked design of the iPhone 17 "Air" and iPhone 17 Pro. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Earlier this week, a report from The Information's Wayne Ma revealed that the iPhone 17 Air will have a thickness of between 5mm and 6mm, which would make it the thinnest iPhone ever. In comparison, iPhone ...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Expected Next Year: Here's What We Know

Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Cyber Monday Deals Feature 2022

Apple Cyber Week Deals Available Now: AirPods, iPads, and More

Sunday December 1, 2024 7:52 am PST by
Although Black Friday has ended, Cyber Week is here and you can find great deals on numerous Apple devices right now. This includes big savings on AirPods, Apple Watch, MacBook Air, iPad, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Specifically,...

Top Rated Comments

troop231 Avatar
164 months ago
What kind of fuel would an Apple designed iCar run on?

Unicorn dust of course.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adildacoolset Avatar
164 months ago
I want an iCar. The first unibody car! Oh, then we'll see a plastic samsung car after that, with a name like "andromeda P3" running the latest google android hot milkshake 6.0.1.3.2 with a driveWiz aid that is available to consumers 4 months after the release date, only to be affected by a malware that kills the driver.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rei101 Avatar
164 months ago
I do not know about the car. But for sure the iBike would have look like this:

Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
inket Avatar
164 months ago
iCar? Doesn't have quite the same twang to it as iPhone/Pod.

But then the idea of Microsoft designing a Windows Car for the average man?...

Yeahhh. aka, Rover.

Dude. No one here wants to see Bill Gates' nose hair.

Also, I can't help but wonder if, on a 1440x900 15" MBP that photo is real-life sized.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
summitRun Avatar
164 months ago
It would have been probably 50% of the market

Um, what?

Pass the crack pipe dude...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DakotaGuy Avatar
164 months ago
I want an iCar. The first unibody car!

Passenger cars have been unibody for a long time. The 1941 Nash 600 was the first mass-produced unibody construction automobile made in the United States. Other then pickup trucks and traditional SUVs everything is unibody these days.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)