The MacRumors Show: Former Apple Executive Mike Bell Talks AirPort, CarPlay, and More

Friday October 13, 2023 9:18 am PDT by Hartley Charlton

Lucid Senior Vice President of Digital and former Apple Executive Mike Bell joins us on this week's episode of The MacRumors Show to discuss the iPhone, AirPort, Vision Pro, CarPlay, and more.

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Mike worked at Apple from 1991 to 2007 and played a significant role in development of hardware products like the ‌iPhone‌, iMac, AirPort, and Apple TV, as well as software features like Boot Camp. After leaving Apple, he worked at Palm, Intel, and Rivian, and now leads digital at luxury electric automaker Lucid.

We reflect on the success of the ‌iPhone‌ since Mike's work to deliver the original model and where it stands today. We also look at Apple's Vision Pro headset and consider whether it will catch on. Mike discusses AirPort, a personal-favorite product that he led, how he feels about its discontinuation, and whether Apple is likely to return to the product line in the future.

We talk through the process and importance of integrating Apple ‌CarPlay‌ in Lucid vehicles, as well as the challenges involved in bringing new digital features to EVs. We also discuss Mike's experience of working at Apple as a senior decision-maker in the 1990s and 2000s, how the company changed in the formative period in which he was there, similarities between Lucid and Apple, and more.

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If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up for our discussion about some of our favorite Apple accessories with YouTuber and content creator Sara Dietschy.

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Top Rated Comments

erikkfi

20 months ago

For those who would care about this sort of thing: Saudi Arabia's government owns about 60% of Lucid.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

spcopsmac21

I miss the Apple airport with built in hard drives. I still use one that I’ve modded 8TB of NVME SSDs into. And it works great over my Linux network with file sharing.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

citysnaps

That was an outstanding and fascinating interview! Hat-tip to Dan and Hartley. And to Mike Bell. Living in the SF Bay Area it's tempting to visit the Lucid showroom and look at their cars.

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

sfkeepay

I use a gutted, inverted, last-gen airport, mounted on a wall, as a pen holder. Still makes me wistful sometimes. SO pathetic, I know.

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

hyperactiv8

This was definitely of the most boring episodes to date. I guess it is great if you are into EVs. However, this podcast had very little to do with Apple. It was ten minutes of the guest's history with Apple and then a 25 minute sales pitch for why Lucid is the greatest EV car ever. I look forward to next week's episode.