U-TURN
Apple cuts more than 600 jobs after axing plans to create self-driving car despite spending billions on project
And a special iPhone update that you may have received by surprise
MEGA tech brand Apple has sacked more than 600 workers after axing its self-driving car project.
The electronics firm had spent billions on the project in the last four years, but the current staff members working on it will be canned by May.
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The top-secret Apple car – which was never formally confirmed by the company– was said to be arriving this year, after rumours started to brew between 2020 and 2021.
But in 2022 its plans to mass produce the fully autonomous vehicle were delayed until 2026, after punters believed the motor would drop this year.
Reports claimed that the tech giant’s automated vehicle would set buyers back around $100,000 (£79,153).
Nicknamed Project Titan, organizers realized their original concept of an Apple self-driving car with no steering wheel or pedals was not technologically feasible, according to .
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To tackle the issue, Apple execs drafted a new vision that included a steering wheel and pedals - while also restricting the car’s self-driving capabilities to highways.
Fast forward to now and the company - which dominates the tech world - has axed 614 California-based workers, notifying the state's employment department on March 29, reports .
While this might seem significant given that it relates to Apple as one of the last big tech giants to make job cuts, it is not driven by the need for efficiencies
Paolo Pescatore
Just last year, Apple's top boss said staff layoffs would be a "last resort", but they now join peers Amazon, Microsoft and Google who have all announced cuts this year.
More than 50,000 tech jobs have been squashed so far, including from tech firms Snap and Paypal.
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But even with the cuts, the popular company has a global workforce of 161,000 and has been able to retain more staff than its competitors.
Although it's the world's most valuable firm, a tech expert has said it's not "immune" to job cuts.
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Industry analyst, Paolo Pescatore, of PP Foresight, said: "While this might seem significant given that it relates to Apple as one of the last big tech giants to make job cuts, it is not driven by the need for efficiencies.
"It feels more like a shift of strategic focus into other new emerging areas like AI."
The company reportedly had a team of 2,000 working in the electric car field, but rumours of the ending of the Apple car started in February.
It has not been confirmed if research will restart again in the future, but the vision they had was years away from being able to produce a vehicle.
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Apple is reportedly developing an artificial intelligence-powered robot that customers can use at home
The personal robot plan was revealed by Apple insider Mark Gurman.
Elsewhere, multiple iPhones quietly got a surprise free upgrade that's a big boost for the device's battery.
Apple issued its latest iOS update last week with the usual bug fixes but experts have discovered that some iPhone models gained another bonus perk.
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And finally, users learnt they can add special emoji icons that appear next to their iPhone status bar – and there's a decent reason for it.
Many owners don't realise that the trick even exists, or why it could help you out.
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