Apple’s self-driving car project never launched, but it spurred development of its Neural Engine, the core of on-device AI processing in its chips. The Neural Engine debuted in the iPhone X with the A11 Bionic, initially supporting Face ID, Animoji and AR features, and later appeared in Macs powered by M-series chips. Apple has not released a consumer self-driving vehicle, and its AI software lags behind industry rivals. Nonetheless, the hardware has enabled privacy-focused features by processing data locally. According to Mark Gurman, Apple will skip the Pro, Max and Ultra variants of its upcoming M6 chip and accelerate the M7, which is expected in the first half of 2027 with upgraded Neural Engine capabilities. The M7 Ultra will underpin a server product capable of supporting up to 1.5 TB of RAM. The upgrades reflect Apple’s focus on strengthening its AI hardware roadmap as demand for on-device intelligence grows.