Apple now wants to own your car’s dashboard
Apple has announced CarPlay, a new in-car interface that allows users to interact with their iPhone safely without taking their eyes off the road. The new system was designed from the ground up to become the bridge between your iPhone and your car’s entertainment system, and extensively uses Siri-like voice navigation to access your car and phone’s features.
“CarPlay has been designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPhone and iOS Product Marketing. “iPhone users always want their content at their fingertips and CarPlay lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimized distraction.”
Most of the functions can be accessed through the touchscreen on the dashboard which uses the familiar icons of iOS 7 (naturally). A dedicated button on the steering wheel allows you to access the voice recognition feature of CarPlay, which allows you to send SMS messages, set destinations for GPS, among other things.
Right now, Apple has partnered with 6 car manufacturers – Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz and Volvo – for CarPlay, and promises the new system will debut in their 2014 model lineup. Other manufacturers have also pledged to use the system, which include Nissan, Ford, Kia, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Suzuki, Subaru and Chevrolet, among others.
CarPlay uses Apple’s Lighting cable to sync, which means only the iPhone 5, 5c and 5s will be compatible with it.
