Apple global battery development chief, Soonho Ahn, is leaving the company to join the German automaker Volkswagen. He previously worked at Samsung till 2018, later having been poached by the iPhone maker to work on the rumoured Apple Car project.
The news of the departure of Soonho Ahn comes just two months after the departure of Doug Field who reportedly led the Apple Car project internally. Doug left Apple to join the team over at Ford; it’s unclear whether people are leaving the iPhone maker over lack of progress or the company is going through an overhaul.
Apple Car rumoured to release in 2025
Ahn has great expertise in battery technology, having worked at Samsung for years. During his tenure at the South Korean giant, he was one of the top executives of Samsung’s SDI division which works on next-generation battery technology. While most rumours suggest that Ahn worked at Apple on the self-driving car project, it is also possible that he actually worked on the battery technology for the iPhone, the iPad and/or the MacBook.
Longtime noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF-International Securities has reported that he expects the iPhone maker to launch its self-driving car sometime in 2025. While it is still years away, the reports around this time suggest that something is actually under works.
The Apple Car project code-named “Project Titan” previously has been in the news for more than ten years now. It was previously reported to be headed by longtime employee Bob Mansfield who used to lead the Mac hardware division and was later promoted to be Senior Vice President (SVP) of Technologies.
While many experts are reportedly leaving the Apple Car project, it was reported earlier this year that head of Apple Watch software Kevin Lynch has taken over the project. The team appears to be going through a rejig.
