14 DAY TRIAL // Volvo Car Group has officially announced joining forces with Apple to offer CarPlay integration in an upcoming SUV set to be deployed later this year. The deal brings together “one of the world’s most progressive car companies and the world’s most famous technology company,” the car maker proudly stated.
Volvo is confident that its partnership with Apple will literally change driving as we know it by putting some of the key features of Apple’s iDevices onto the car’s dashboard.
“The alliance promises to transform the in car experience. Called Apple CarPlay, the new service brings all the features and services familiar to iPad, iPhone or iPod users directly into the car via Volvo’s large centre console touch screen display.”
Speaking of which, the first model to take advantage of CarPlay is the XC90, a new SUV that is making its debut later this year (Volvo wouldn’t offer an exact launch date).
“The first car to offer Apple CarPlay will be the all new XC90 SUV which will be introduced later in 2014, one of the most anticipated cars of recent years, replacing the original XC90, which redefined the SUV and became the best selling model in Volvo’s history,” says the Swedish car maker.
Volvo’s XC90 will reportedly sport a one-of-a-kind portrait screen that allows users to have “both Volvo and Apple content co-existing simultaneously.”
Volvo assures future buyers of its XC90 that some of the basic iPhone applications and functions will appear right on their dashboard, including the phone and messages app, as well as third-party apps like Spotify.
Strangely, the auto manufacturer doesn’t mention Siri integration in its announcement, despite the fact that Apple’s voice-powered assistant is the heart and soul of CarPlay.
Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO, Volvo Car Group, said, “iPhone users will feel completely at home in a new Volvo. We have created a wholly-integrated user experience in our large portrait-oriented touch screen that takes the in-car mobile device experience to a new level.”
“That, coupled with the obvious driver safety benefits of an advanced voice control system like Siri, made Apple a perfect match for Volvo,” added Samuelsson.
Finally, Volvo also confirms that CarPlay, which currently works through a Lightning cable, will one day work over a Wi-Fi connection.
To learn more about CarPlay, including the key features, supported car models, etc., see the CarPlay section on Apple.com.