14 DAY TRIAL // Apple today unveiled CarPlay, “the smarter, safer and more fun way to use iPhone in the car,” according to the company’s own description of the service. First available on Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo vehicles, CarPlay will be rolling out to dozens of other car models later throughout 2014.
In a newly set-up section on Apple.com, the Cupertino giant details every important feature that CarPlay has to offer, with the tagline “Apple CarPlay. The best iPhone experience on four wheels.”
In usual Apple style, the site offers a breakdown of the key CarPlay functions complete with gushing graphics and highly informative schematics and examples.
For instance, the company shows how customers can use Siri voice control for driving scenarios. The assistant works not only with the car’s touchscreen, but also with various knobs and buttons, “and the apps you want to use in the car have been reimagined, so you can use them while your eyes and hands stay where they belong,” Apple explains.
Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPhone and iOS Product Marketing, says, “CarPlay has been designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car.”
“iPhone users always want their content at their fingertips and CarPlay lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimized distraction. We have an amazing lineup of auto partners rolling out CarPlay, and we’re thrilled it will make its debut this week in Geneva,” adds Joswiak.
Finally, Apple lists the full lineup of manufacturers who are taking advantage of CarPlay in their 2014 models and ends the marketing page with a list of supported devices.
To take advantage of CarPlay, drivers need relatively new hardware: iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5c. The company has promised to make CarPlay available as an update to iOS 7, but a release date has yet to be confirmed.