Apple has officially announced that its iOS in the Car service has been named CarPlay. Select car manufacturers will begin to offer the service very soon.
CarPlay is intended to take iPhone use in the car to the next level and several car makers are happy to connect themselves to the idea. Ferrari, Volvo, and Mercedes-Benz intend to show off the technology this week at the Geneva car show, but the list does not stop there as Honda, BMW, Toyota, and General Motors plan to incorporate the technology.
Simply plug in your iPhone and you'll have full access to Phone, Messages, Music, and Apple Maps on the car's built-in display. CarPlay can be controlled by voice with Siri, touchscreen, or using knobs and buttons. CarPlay can predict where you're most likely going by using addresses from your email, text messages, contacts and calendars. Apple has even added some third-party apps that will support CarPlay, like Beats Radio, iHeartRadio, and Stitcher, and says more apps are coming soon.
"CarPlay has been designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of iPhone and iOS Product Marketing. "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."
By directly incorporating a mobile operating system into a car Apple is creating a whole new sales pitch for salesman. Now, instead of asking how many children a buyer has or what kind of gas mileage they want customers might find themsleves saying they are Android or Apple users.
Apple said CarPlay is available as an update to iOS 7 and works with Lightning-enabled iPhones, including iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5. CarPlay will be available in select cars shipping in 2014. Pricing was not noted.
Apple has added a dedicated a CarPlay page to the company's website where it has listed all of its partners and shows off its user interface.
Check out the video below from Volvo showing off CarPlay.
