14 DAY TRIAL // Apple promised that CarPlay would come in 2014, and although there were rumors about a six-month delay, we can see the first automobiles with their system. The first car on the road to get a CarPlay integration is a Ferrari FF, a car that will set you back about $300,000 (€231,752).
The third-party solution is pretty expensive too, but at least you don't have to buy a full car for it.
The luxury of an Apple dashboard
According to the manufacturer's website, the first Ferrari FF equipped with the Apple CarPlay system has gone to an Italian client. The company has started deliveries of their newest sports car, and we will soon see the integrated Apple system all over the world.
In Europe alone, the Ferrari FF cars with CarPlay will go to Germany, Great Britain, France, and Switzerland. A few models have been sent to the United States of America and to Japan.
In a video posted on the company's website, you can see the driver asking Siri to show a map of a nearby city, send and receive an iMessage or play music from a playlist.
Ferrari describes the CarPlay system as a smarter, safer and fun way to use iPhone in your car. The new dashboard is also available for the Ferrari California T model that comes with a V8 Turbo mid-front-engine.
Check out the Ferrari video on their website
A 3rd-party system with a hefty price
The guys over at iMore got their chance to play with a 3rd-party CarPlay system. This is an aftermarket dashboard that can be installed in virtually any car, if the owner has $1,300 (€1,000) available for that purpose. As expected, this looks exactly like the Ferrari one and it is just as smart.
The new solution was presented at IFA 2014 in Berlin and it will be yours pretty soon. The car they saw it in was a Suzuki, but the developer says that their product works in any modern car. Even though the price is pretty big for a dashboard and you have to own the iPhone, you are still going to pay less than for the 300,000 bucks Ferrari.
Everything looks exactly the same as it would on your iPhone, and the larger screen is an advantage for the driver. Automobiles with CarPlay that will be released this year are coming from Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. Apple has also announced that Alpine and Pioneer will be the official aftermarket solutions.
CarPlay needs an iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c or iPhone 5 running iOS 7 to work.
