Apple's in-car iOS system will not make it in the driver seat just yet

Aug 24, 2014 02:02 GMT  ·  By
Apple had big plans for 2014. Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo announced they would release new models with built-in entertainment systems linked to Apple's innovation. Next year, 24 other huge car manufacturers around the world should have been on the same list. 
 
However, a new report from Computerworld noticed there was a change of plans. Big car makers like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Honda are pushing their releases a few good months, to 2015. The story cites Filomena Berardi, a senior analyst at ABI Research that explains how, so far, no car manufacturer has rolled out the software. All the car manufacturers scheduled for 2014 will release their solutions in 2015. 
 
Mercedes-Benz has already confirmed that they are going to delay their CarPlay rollout until next year and Volvo is going to follow suit. Honda had something up their sleeve, but they will too release the new models in 2015. The Computerworld story cites a spokesman from Honda that refused to talk about the specific car models that will actually get CarPlay. 
 
Same story explains how CarPlay and Android Auto are relatively simple middleware apps so the car manufacturers should not have any issues integrating those into their new models. Volvo, for example, will have it on their XC90 SUV, but that won't come out in North America until next year. 
 
Hyundai seems to be the only big car maker to deploy CarPlay this year. They also work to integrate Android Auto in their vehicles. Miles Johnson, a spokesman for Hyundai, said his company was in the final validation process, before the big release. 
 
Apple calls CarPlay the best iPhone experience on four wheels and goes on explaining how this is the smarter and safer way to use your iPhone in the car. All you have to do is connect the phone via the lightning cable to the car's entertainment system, and the dashboard display will change into something with the looks and feel of an iOS device. Some of them will be touch screen-based, other will have a scroll wheel and buttons to help you navigate the menus and apps. 
 
CarPlay would enable the driver to make calls, ask for directions, send and receive messages, listen to music or podcasts and be focused on the road in the same time. Imagine you could be doing all of that using Siri so you don't even need to see your iPhone. Apple has invited other apps to work with CarPlay. Beats Music, iHeartRadio, MLB At Bat, Spotify and Stitcher Radio are among the ones that will be there at launch date. 
 
Apple's CarPlay only works with iPhone 5s, 5c and the old iPhone 5 and will be ON by default on the future iPhone 6 and iPhone 6L.