Fisker PEAR details reveal Xbox Series S-beating in-car computer alongside 'invisible' A-pillar

Fisker unveiled the PEAR EV a few months ago, debuting some of the upcoming compact EVs best space-saving practicality features. More recently, Fisker revealed that it will be showing off a "production-intent" PEAR at the company's Grove Lounge in Los Angeles, adding that this PEAR prototype will introduce two new features.

The press release highlighting these new features specifically calls out two in-cabin additions that should make the vehicle safer and easier to live with. The PEAR will come equipped with a custom computer called the Fisker Blade, powering what Fisker calls Cockpit Compute.

It's unclear what exactly Cockpit Compute will bring to the table, but Fisker claims that the Blade computer is capable of 6.2 TFLOPs of compute power. This puts it ahead of the Xbox Series S's 4 TFLOPs — although still significantly behind the AMD RDNA GPU used in modern Tesla EVs and the Xbox Series X. The computer is clearly more than capable of gaming — a feature becoming more and more popular in EVs, thanks to sometimes-lengthy charging stops — but it's unclear if Fisker intends for owners to be able to use this power for gaming.

It is, however, likely that Fisker will use the Cockpit Compute to run at least part of the processing for in-car entertainment, navigation, and the other feature it mentioned — a see-through A-pillar.

The "invisible" A-pillar works by displaying footage from an external surround camera on a screen located on the A-pillar. The idea behind this solution is that it shows the driver what might be obscuring the A-pillar.

Given that the PEAR is meant as a compact, agile electric car for transport in urban settings, it'll undoubtedly be a handy feature to have. It does raise some questions about Fisker's intent with the PEAR. At the launch of the car, Fisker leaned into the practicality, simplicity, and affordability of the PEAR. One has to wonder what will happen to the claimed US$29,900 price tag if Fisker keeps tacking more tech and features onto the little electric crossover.

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