We’ve been hearing rumours of an in-car system from Apple for a number of years now, ranging from clever little gadgets to entire dashboard systems ran on iOS. The Cupertino company has finally unveiled what it has been working on: Apple CarPlay.
Similarly to Apple’s AirPlay technology, CarPlay involves throwing features from your iPhone to your car’s dashboard system. By linking up an iPhone with a CarPlay compatible car system you’ll be able to access many of the phone’s features in your car, all using voice control with Siri to make it hands-free.
So how does it work? Well, Apple is already teaming up with a number of car manufacturers who have agreed to make their vehicles ‘CarPlay compatible’ as of this year. In these cars you’ll have a Lightning port dock which allows you to slot in an iPhone 5, 5S or 5C to make the CarPlay connection with the car’s infotainment system on the dash. From there you have access to things like your phone’s contacts, Maps, iTunes Radio, Music, Messages and more.
Typically, CarPlay will only really work with more modern cars which have a screen built in to the dash. The screen can be touch enabled, allowing you to tap apps as you would on the iPhone itself, or non-touch and controlled using an array of dials and knobs usually found in the centre console. The final piece of the puzzle will be a special button situated on the steering wheel that starts Siri voice control, effectively doing the same as when you hold down the home button on your iPhone.
The likes of Volvo, Ferrari, Ford and Mercedes Benz have already agreed to make cars with CarPlay built in, with Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, Citroen, Peugeot, Honda, Land Rover and loads more also ready to put CarPlay in to new production cars. With so many big names on board it’s very likely that if you buy a new car within the next few years, it’ll play nicely with your iPhone.
Check out the video from Volvo below to see what CarPlay really looks like.