AppleInsider Staff
Apple is rumored to be prepping an official announcement relating to its "iOS in the Car" initiative, with one report claiming the company will reveal the first three automakers to implement the technology next week.
Sources tell the Financial Times that Apple will launch an "in-car operating system" at next week's Geneva Motor Show, with Ferrari, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz named as the initiative's first partners.
The publication fails to name the rumored operating system, but additional details point to Apple's "iOS in the Car" program, which is mentioned at the end of the article as being introduced last year.
A description of the rumored system matches exactly with iOS in the Car functionality. Specifically, the report claims drivers will be granted access to Apple Maps, music, videos, Siri, voice calls, text dictation and more via the partners' infotainment systems.
Further, as seen above, Ferrari, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz were announced as launch partners when Apple introduced the platform at WWDC 2013. Apple previously partnered with the three auto manufacturers, as well as Nissan and Alfa Romeo, in a 2005 push to integrate the iPod into car stereo systems.
After its unveiling, Apple's new automotive initiative has remained largely under the radar. Select manufacturers have implemented Siri Eyes Free technology into their cars, but none have gone so far as to incorporate iOS in the Car's full suite of features.
A report in January suggested Apple executives were having trouble getting the project ready for market, which could explain the nearly year-long period of silence.
Most recently, a short video published to the Web in January shows what looks to be an iOS developer tool running an iOS 7.1 emulator piping Apple Maps to a simulated iOS in the Car screen.
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
62 Comments
1) Is this better than Apple having their own event? 2) I hate the current system in every car to an extent that I may trade in my less-than-one-year-old car for a new one if this system is true great. My system is so archaic that when I hit the button for hands-free calling it says "Please listen carefully as our menu items have changed…"¡
My understanding was that Apple also had BMW in the fold. Anyone clued up to the standing of their relationship?
I'm as big an Apple fan as the next guy, but I'm not really sure I'm down with the operator-facing OS of the being so linked to my phone. It seems a tad restrictive as to which car I am going to buy. What if I want to buy a Bimmer? Is it going to be running Droid? It looks like Audi will be. That would be annoying. It seems like a better strategy for auto makers to give the customer the option on this one. But since I'll probably never own a car made after the year 2000, it doesn't really make a difference to me, just doesn't seem smart for an auto manufacturer to get tied in to a system like this. But hey, it's tech, this shit changes fast.
Hmm...Apple is going to announce something but not with their own event? How often do they do that?
[quote name="cornchip" url="/t/162232/apple-to-announce-ios-in-the-car-tie-up-with-ferrari-volvo-mercedes-benz-next-week#post_2479542"]I'm as big an Apple fan as the next guy, but I'm not really sure I'm down with the operator-facing OS of the being so linked to my phone. It seems a tad restrictive as to which car I am going to buy. What if I want to buy a Bimmer? Is it going to be running Droid? It looks like Audi will be. That would be annoying. It seems like a better strategy for auto makers to give the customer the option on this one. But since I'll probably never own a car made after the year 2000, it doesn't really make a difference to me, just doesn't seem smart for an auto manufacturer to get tied in to a system like this. But hey, it's tech, this shit changes fast.[/quote] One of us is incorrect. I thought iOS in the car was more like AirPlay via BT with unique UI features and in no was actually installed iOS as the car's OS. I also haven't seen any reports that if a vendor offers IOS in the Car they can't also offer [I]Android in the Car.[/I] alongside it.