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Apple’s CarPlay looks like a slick, Siri-enabled way to interact with your iPhone in the car. While not a standalone in-car operating system, it is a “second screen” iOS interface optimized for the car — one that allows for deeper integration with iOS devices than any in-car system to date. This should make the creators of full-featured infotainment systems very nervous.
The system will debut at the Geneva International Motor Show this week, and new cars from Mercedes, Volvo, and Ferrari will ship with CarPlay built in. Or make that half of CarPlay built in: In addition to a CarPlay-enabled car, you’ll need an iPhone with an upcoming iOS 7 update to use it. According to Apple, the system only works with Lightning-connector iPhones — you’re limited to using the system with the iPhone 5, 5s, and 5c — that will need to be connected to the car in order for the features to work.
Think of it as a car-infotainment system by proxy, because everything’s still running through the iPhone. For the screen mirroring and car-touchscreen interaction with the phone, CarPlay uses a system based on streaming H.264 video. A Volvo press release mentioned that Wi-Fi connectivity is planned for its own implementation of CarPlay, but the real brains of the system — the iPhone itself — will need to stay physically tethered via a Lightning cable for now
The system will debut at the Geneva International Motor Show this week, and new cars from Mercedes, Volvo, and Ferrari will ship with CarPlay built in. Or make that half of CarPlay built in: In addition to a CarPlay-enabled car, you’ll need an iPhone with an upcoming iOS 7 update to use it. According to Apple, the system only works with Lightning-connector iPhones — you’re limited to using the system with the iPhone 5, 5s, and 5c — that will need to be connected to the car in order for the features to work.
Think of it as a car-infotainment system by proxy, because everything’s still running through the iPhone. For the screen mirroring and car-touchscreen interaction with the phone, CarPlay uses a system based on streaming H.264 video. A Volvo press release mentioned that Wi-Fi connectivity is planned for its own implementation of CarPlay, but the real brains of the system — the iPhone itself — will need to stay physically tethered via a Lightning cable for now
I found the following paragraph of particular interest:
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(One interesting side note: If you’re looking for a dual-boot car, you might be best off buying a Honda or a Hyundai in the near future. Both of those carmakers are listed as being part of the 2014 CarPlay lineup and are also members of the Android-focused Open Automotive Alliance.)