While much attention has been focused on the Vision Pro, Apple has long been working on hardware that would turn the MSRP of an AR headset into pocket change: a $100,000 self-driving car.

The so-called Apple Car is not coming soon, and last we heard it had been pushed back to 2026 at the earliest, but the company continues to develop it under the radar. Earlier this month, it was reported that Apple has increased the number of test cars by two to 68. While this is still small fry compared to Zoox, Waymo, and Cruise, which each have several hundred vehicles, it is still making progress.

Unlike traditional cars, which have fixed seats, the dream of the Apple Car is reportedly to allow the seats to rotate, slide, and recline while the car is driving.

However, this poses a problem for airbags. In cars with fixed seats, manufacturers have a pretty good idea of where the head will be in an accident. With flexible seats, it is much more difficult to predict.

Apple seems to have thought about this dilemma a bit: a patent found by Patently Apple shows one solution, which is to store the airbag under the seat rather than on the car's interior surface. In other words, the seat you are facing would house the airbags that are expected to save your life in the event of a crash.

"The system includes a sensor system configured to detect an imminent event, detect an occupant facing the seat, and detect an object stored under the seat," the patent abstract says." The system also includes an airbag (e.g., a restraint) configured to deploy from the seat and inhibit movement of an occupant facing the seat and an object stored under the seat."

It is certainly good that companies are considering these issues. However, despite the very limited test deployment, with accidents involving driverless vehicles in the news from time to time, the idea that flexible seats will further distance passengers from any manual control feels dangerous.

Indeed, it was once suggested that the Apple Car might not have any manual controls at all, but that has reportedly been shelved for the time being. Given that, it is possible that this patent is not for the traditional first-generation Apple Car, but for a year from now, when self-driving cars will prove reliable on all American roads.