Apple may have abandoned the “Apple Car,” and Car Play may be facing its own issues, but it is far from finished when it comes to dabbling in the automotive world. The Silicon Valley giant’s latest idea is a twist on wing mirrors. Apple intends to replace traditional mirrors with cameras, which in itself isn’t unique. Cameras have supplemented mirrors on high-end vehicles for quite a while now. Instead, Apple’s unique spin on things comes from how what the camera sees is displayed.
Enthusiast site Patently Apple has spotted a way Apple might make the tech safer. Instead of making a driver take their eyes off the road to glance at a mirror, or even look down at a display to see what the vehicle’s wing camera is seeing, the company proposes projecting the mirror view onto the windshield itself. That way, a driver could check they are safe to maneuver without ever really taking their eyes off the road.
The cameras would have a lot of benefits, including reduced aerodynamic drag, no adjustment needed between drivers, a wider angle of vision, better night vision, no glare from other vehicles’ headlights, and better visibility in adverse weather conditions. There’s also a style factor to consider, and many automakers would likely leap at the chance of replacing a large mirror with a sleek stalk. However, there is one major issue that Apple might not be able to overcome.
The idea will face some legal hurdles
As mentioned, replacing side mirrors with cameras isn’t exactly a new idea. It’s something we’ve seen a few times, including on several recent Genesis concepts and attached to prototypes of the Tesla Cybertruck. The issue is driving a vehicle without wing mirrors isn’t legal in a lot of places. Forward-thinking legislation has been pushed to legalize it, but it remains illegal in the U.S. Legalizing it would also have to be done on a state-by-state basis, adding more hurdles and possibly complicating things for drivers that can use a vehicle in their own state, but risk getting pulled over should they cross a state line.
To be clear, the cameras themselves are legal, but must be a supplement to a traditional wing mirror. They may still be useful in this case, and Apple’s system will still help a driver keep their eyes on the road, but it won’t provide the same slimmed-down look that the designers were going for.
The main barrier to legalization seems to be safety. A mirror is less likely to malfunction, and can usually be adjusted by hand if its components fail. Mirrors also have a larger surface area, so while a splash of dirt could obscure a camera completely, you’ll need a lot of dirt to totally block out a mirror.
