The Apple Car has taken another step toward becoming a reality. New reports indicate that Apple is in negotiations to purchase LiDAR sensors to power its self-driving car system.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is looking for a sensor that will be state-of-the-art "four to five years from now," giving an estimated date for the car's arrival. That would be 2025 at the earliest.

Apparently, Apple is actively negotiating with a number of companies that can supply LiDAR sensors.

These companies have reportedly requested not to be named because the discussions are "private." Perhaps they are concerned that by publicly engaging with Apple Car, Apple will cancel the talks. Perhaps these revelations were behind the sudden cancellation of the Apple deal after reports emerged that Apple and Hyundai/Kia would be involved in the manufacture of the Apple Car.

LiDAR is a common component of self-driving cars, and nearly all autonomous vehicles we have seen so far have it. The system uses a laser as a type of radar to measure the distance to other objects based on the time it takes for the light to reflect back to the sensor. This allows the LiDAR system to essentially create an image of its surroundings and thus "see" the area around it.

The iPhone 12 Pro does something similar with the LiDAR sensor in the rear camera array, but it is only used for better depth detection in photography and augmented reality apps.

As noted above, Apple is reportedly looking for a company to provide a "next generation" LiDAR system that "will be considered state-of-the-art in four to five years."

This suggests that the Apple Car will be launched in 2025-2026. This is consistent with some later estimates we have already heard from analysts and a recent Bloomberg report claiming that Apple employees do not expect the car to be ready until at least 2025.

Some reports claim that Apple will have the car ready as early as 2024. However, the fact that Apple is still sourcing parts and looking for manufacturing partners suggests otherwise. By all accounts, the Apple car is still a long way off.

The biggest question is what Apple is trying to accomplish with the Apple Car. Apple has a history of using existing technology to appeal to the masses.

It is certainly true that the Apple Car is something new. But from what we've heard, it's not that different from other autonomous vehicles being developed by other tech giants and auto giants.

Then again, if anyone can make people see the potential behind new and emerging technologies, it is Apple. The brand name alone is enough to get people excited.

What is important about the Apple Car is that it is not designed to be part of an autonomous vehicle called up by an app. If you live in an area where it is not serviced, it is kind of completely useless. It's a private car that you keep in your garage at home, just like any other car. It drives around on its own while you do whatever you do to keep you occupied.

But as we have seen, it probably won't arrive for quite some time.