Asia Tech Wire (Oct 17) -- Apple worked for years with Chinese automaker BYD to develop long-range batteries for its now-canceled electric car program, according to an article by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the report says that the results of those collaborations laid the groundwork for today's battery technology.

Around 2017, Apple teamed up with BYD to begin designing a system based on lithium iron phosphate batteries, a technology designed to provide longer range and greater safety than electric car batteries at the time, the people revealed.

Over the past decade, Apple has invested about $1 billion a year in its electric car project before abandoning it.