[naaaaak]

Apple has a car project. Autopilot must be one of its core features. But Apple would not create a VP-level position for Autopilot or any one feature for any of their products (even if they it called something else for secrecy/generalization reasons).

This move increases his compensation and clout. Post-Tesla, he'll only have VP or founder titles elsewhere, never anything lower-level (unless he gets his old job back). The change must be welcoming, too.

That Apple could not retain him speaks volumes of the company they've become. They're a conglomerate at the intersection of tech and fashion. Groundbreaking engineering is not always given its proper due (or compensation) because there's only so many seats at the table. They've become rigidly corporate and not particularly inspiring.

Good luck to him, and good job taking a chance. Working for someone with a vision other than "thin" must be a welcoming change.

[will_pseudonym]

> Working for someone with a vision other than "thin" must be a welcoming change.

This is so spot on. I would kill for a thicker phone with a less vibrant display that would last 2x as long on a single charge. They're pushing stuff that the consumer doesn't want (thinner/less battery volume, no headphone jack) in order to make money. It reminds me a lot of the TV industry pushing 3D TV's. I don't know a single person who has ever watched, let alone regularly, any 3D content on their 3D TV. It's a technology that few wanted but was pushed to drive sales.

[jolux]

>They're pushing stuff that the consumer doesn't want (thinner/less battery volume, no headphone jack) in order to make money.

But how do you know that people don't want this? All the people who told me they were switching to Android because of the headphone jack ended up with iPhone 7s anyways and love them. And now it seems that Samsung's next phone is going to ditch the jack too. Not to mention the numbers aren't really in favor of suggesting this change is hugely unpopular.

[will_pseudonym]

Because the portable battery pack market size was estimated to be $15B in 2014[0], and is projected to grow to $17B by 2020[0]. That's saying nothing of the massive anecdotal evidence.

[0] https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2016/04/04/825448/0/e...

[mikestew]

I would argue that the battery pack market has little to do with whether or not folks think their phones are too thin. For instance, in day-to-day use I don't recall ever plugging a device into a battery pack. But I own two of them. Because once in a while I'm in the middle of, say, the Yukon or Alaska and haven't seen a power outlet in days, but perhaps would like a movie in my tent or to write a blog post. (I could charge from outlets on the motorcycle, but I've got enough crap plugged in the way it is.) So most of the time those packs sit on a shelf and are no reflection on whether or not I feel the iPhone battery is adequate for normal use.

Not everyone hangs in the same circles, but lots of (for example) motorcyclists buy these for general "plug in at camp" use. Run a small light, charge the GoPro, and some do use them to charge a phone. Hell, some of them use them as jump start batteries which is about as far away from anything related to cell phones as I can imagine in the portable power market.

In summary, quoting battery pack market size merely reflects the desire for folks to have portable electrical power, for whatever they feel they might need it for.

[jolux]

Power banks are convenient and I'd rather have a power bank and a thin phone than a really thick phone and no power bank. Thin when you want it, bulky when you don't.

The 3.5mm headphone market is also massive but people don't want 3.5mm headphones, they just want headphones. You're confusing demand for intrinsic virtue.

[wallace_f]

>That Apple could not retain him speaks volumes of the company they've become.

Sorry if this sounds naive (and it's not intended as veiled criticism), but could it not be the case just that he is more valuable to Tesla so they are able to justify offering him more compensation?

[laser]

I thought Apple's car project was dead? Now autopilot is the one feature they're building?

http://www.motortrend.com/news/apple-car-dead-software-shift...

[tajen]

Both are correct: Apple's car project is dead, Apple is on autopilot.

[geodel]

> That Apple could not retain him speaks volumes of the company

Or it could be just that there 100s of engineers and tech leads working on Swift/Xcode/LLVM and giving enormous compensation to one because (s)he is famous engineer and wanted to leave does not really make sense. Unlike marketing or sales writing core software does not seem to be star driven, or at least I hope so.

[autoreleasepool]

> That Apple could not retain him speaks volumes of the company they've become. They're a conglomerate at the intersection of tech and fashion.

Well said. Apple would have made the strides it did in its developer platform had it not been for Lattner. It does seem that the company has different priorities than it did when he was hired