A former Chrysler proving grounds for automotive testing outside of Phoenix, Arizona, that has been rumored to be used by Apple was recently purchased for $125 million by the firm that has been leasing it for the past five years, according to AZ Big Media.
Back in 2017, it was reported that a company by the name of Route 14 Investment Partners LLC had signed a lease to use the facility, with rumors suggesting Apple was behind the deal, although there was no definitive proof of the link. Route 14 is represented by the Phoenix office of law firm Greenberg Traurig, hiding the true ownership of the company.
Route 14 has now exercised an option to purchase the property, which consists of 34 separate parcels, for $125 million in cash. The purchase agreement is dated June 25, 2021, with a deed and assumption of an existing development agreement with the City of Surprise both dated July 30 and seen by MacRumors.
We have still not been able to concretely tie Apple to Route 14, but it's clear that whoever is behind the firm has deep pockets and a long-term interest in the testing facility.
Rumors about Apple's work on both autonomous driving systems and actual electric vehicles have ebbed and flowed over the last several years. The most recent report just this week claimed that Apple has been visiting with Toyota as it seeks to develop a supplier network with an eye toward producing an Apple-branded car starting in 2024.
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why.
In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
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 often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro.
The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence.
The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles.
iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by Juli Clover
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look.
Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March.
As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta.
Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device.
The revised beta addresses an...
I don't know if this confirms anything but a friend who lives nearby says that around July they saw workers making the asphalt thinner, removing all markings from the roadways, and chamfering the edges on all the buildings. Weird.
Apple has been wasting time on this car project. It is too many years behind Google and Baidu. By the time Apple comes up with something usable, the market would have been fully taken up. When Apple is not the creator of a market, it never made meaningful splash. In another word, Apple is never good at competing in a field others created.
Phones, tablets, watches, bluetooth headsets. Apple didn't invent the cell phone, table or bluetooth headset, yet they made quite a splash in those areas over the years.
Apple has been wasting time on this car project. It is too many years behind Google and Baidu. By the time Apple comes up with something usable, the market would have been fully taken up. When Apple is not the creator of a market, it never made meaningful splash. In another word, Apple is never good at competing in a field others created.
According to you, the autonomous car market is all wrapped up but I'm still trying to summon a single self driving car to come pick me up. What am I doing wrong here?
Apple has been wasting time on this car project. It is too many years behind Google and Baidu. By the time Apple comes up with something usable, the market would have been fully taken up. When Apple is not the creator of a market, it never made meaningful splash. In another word, Apple is never good at competing in a field others created.
Apple has been wasting time on this car project. It is too many years behind Google and Baidu. By the time Apple comes up with something usable, the market would have been fully taken up. When Apple is not the creator of a market, it never made meaningful splash. In another word, Apple is never good at competing in a field others created.
Apple almost always comes into a market already established. But it brings in something better. Music, phones, tablets, personal computers, services, etc etc etc. the list is literally endless.
