If you keep waiting for Apple Car rumors, two rumors can pop up at once. Following yesterday's fanciful talk of an Apple Car launch in 2021, a more realistic-sounding report claims that Apple aims to begin production of self-driving cars in 2024.

As reported by Reuters, inside sources say that the Apple Car will use a "next-generation" battery design with a longer range and better safety features than existing electric car batteries.

Also known as Project Titan, the Apple Car has been in production in Cupertino since 2014 and was road tested in 2017. However, this report is the strongest indication yet that Apple is ready and willing to solidify its production plans.

According to two people familiar with the project, the Apple Car will be a self-driving car for private customers, not a ride-sharing vehicle as previously speculated. And development is focused on creating a new kind of battery.

It is based on an entirely new "mono-cell" design, which maximizes the size of the individual cells in the battery pack, thereby extending the range of the Apple Car until it needs a charge. Apple is also apparently considering moving away from having the cells consist of regular lithium-ion and instead using lithium iron phosphate, which is less likely to overheat

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"It's next level," says one Reuters source. 'It's like seeing an iPhone for the first time.'

Speaking of the iPhone, it is important to remember that smartphone and computing companies still have major challenges to overcome before they can bring self-driving cars to market. In addition to the ongoing pandemic, which could delay production even if the 2024 target is accurate, there is also the problem of building the car supply chain from scratch.

Previous reports had claimed that Apple had developed its own LiDAR system (a series of sensors that allow self-driving cars to "see" their surroundings) specifically for Project Titan. However, this report suggests that Apple is looking for a third party to provide LiDAR sensors for the Apple Car. This could be in addition to a shorter-range sensor adapted from the LiDAR technology in the iPhone 12 Pro and iPad Pro.

In any case, if the Apple Car is going to be on our roads, it will likely be much closer to 2024 than 2021. Next year will be the realm of the iPhone 13 and the upgraded iPad.