Apple wants to take over your car.
Having revolutionised in-car entertainment with Apple CarPlay and key rival Android Auto, features that put some smartphone apps and features on in-car displays, Apple plans to extend beyond central displays to take over digital dashboards and other readouts.
Many new cars have a glass display behind the steering wheel instead of physical gauges - a trend found in cars ranging from little cars such as the Volkswagen Polo and Hyundai i20 to luxury limousines and million-dollar supercars.
Apple says it will have access to those screens in thousands of new cars, starting next year.
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Emily Schubert, senior manager of car experience engineering for the tech firm, told Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference that “cars have changed a lot, with larger-sized screens and more of them throughout the car”, and that “there’s an opportunity for iPhone to play an even more important role”.
“We’ve been working with automakers to reinvent the in-car experience across all of the driver’s screens,” she said.
“This next generation of CarPlay provides content for all the driver’s screens, giving an experience that is unified and consistent. It’s the very best of your car and your iPhone, and it goes beyond what you can do with CarPlay today.”
Apple customers will be able to access features previously off-limits to CarPlay, including radio tuning, climate control, and key vehicle readouts such as speed, engine temperature and fuel level.
The manufacturer promises data will be managed in an “on-device, privacy friendly way”, and claims several manufacturers including Honda, Ford, Nissan and Renault are already on board.
Luxury brands including Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi, Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover also signed up to the changes.
Apple claims CarPlay is offered in 98 per cent of cars on sale in the US, and that 79 per cent of American motorists would not consider a car without the feature.
The next-gen CarPlay suite is more customisable than before, with a range of display, colours and layouts customers can choose from.
Apple says the features will be customised to suit the shape and layout of each car that offers the next-gen features.
- news.com.au
