The Future of Auto Infotainment is Here: Apple Unveils CarPlay in Geneva
The day when cars become iPhones with bigger buttons may be upon us. Apple revealed its automotive infotainment platform, CarPlay, at the Geneva International Motor Show this week, and soon it'll roll out in cars from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo and work with the iPhone 5, 5S or 5C.
Apple has been talking about bringing iOS into the car for several months, and what it came up with is CarPlay. It mirrors the iPhone screen in a driver-friendly format, filling the center-console touch screen of participating vehicles with large buttons in an iPhone look for crucial functions such as text messaging, phone calls, maps and music.
Drivers can summon Siri for an eyes-free control experience, an intuitive feature that will surely threaten existing in-car voice-control software.
"If it controls your screen, it controls CarPlay," is how Apple described the system. It's been designed to work with the physical controls of various auto manufacturers, with Apple noting that its list of "committed partners" for CarPlay is thorough with only Chrysler, Volkswagen and Audi as notable absences, according to USA Today.
Interestingly, that would mean Ford is on Apple's list as well. The company pioneered the earliest mainstream "infotainment" system, Sync, with Microsoft, but Ford has run into problems with operability of new versions of the system over the last couple of years. Last week at Mobile World Congress, the auto maker reportedly said it would swap Microsoft for BlackBerry's QNX software for the newest version of Sync.
In any event, the connected-car space is the most active technology arena in the car industry, with other big non-auto players such as Google and AT&T also seeking business and influence through various programs and partnerships that team auto brands with the top in tech. At January's Consumer Electronics Show, for instance, the Google-led Open Automotive Alliance named GM, Hyundai and others as partners in its effort to customize the Android operating system to allow for in-car app access and remote diagnostics, while Samsung said it was cooperating with Toyota for a similar initiative.
How Apple's CarPlay will fit into all of that isn't clear yet.
Apple has been talking about bringing iOS into the car for several months, and what it came up with is CarPlay. It mirrors the iPhone screen in a driver-friendly format, filling the center-console touch screen of participating vehicles with large buttons in an iPhone look for crucial functions such as text messaging, phone calls, maps and music.
Drivers can summon Siri for an eyes-free control experience, an intuitive feature that will surely threaten existing in-car voice-control software.
"If it controls your screen, it controls CarPlay," is how Apple described the system. It's been designed to work with the physical controls of various auto manufacturers, with Apple noting that its list of "committed partners" for CarPlay is thorough with only Chrysler, Volkswagen and Audi as notable absences, according to USA Today.
Interestingly, that would mean Ford is on Apple's list as well. The company pioneered the earliest mainstream "infotainment" system, Sync, with Microsoft, but Ford has run into problems with operability of new versions of the system over the last couple of years. Last week at Mobile World Congress, the auto maker reportedly said it would swap Microsoft for BlackBerry's QNX software for the newest version of Sync.
In any event, the connected-car space is the most active technology arena in the car industry, with other big non-auto players such as Google and AT&T also seeking business and influence through various programs and partnerships that team auto brands with the top in tech. At January's Consumer Electronics Show, for instance, the Google-led Open Automotive Alliance named GM, Hyundai and others as partners in its effort to customize the Android operating system to allow for in-car app access and remote diagnostics, while Samsung said it was cooperating with Toyota for a similar initiative.
How Apple's CarPlay will fit into all of that isn't clear yet.
Source: http://www.brandchannel.com
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