Apple’s next-generation CarPlay is on its way, and one of its key features will be a completely wireless connection to the infotainment system.
The tech giant will have to work closely with automakers to sort out the disconnect issues that come with the new wireless-only format, but what else do we know beyond that?
Advanced CarPlay has been in the pipeline for a long time now without any significant updates, but recently Worldwide Developers Conference 2024More details were revealed.
As Bill The “ultimate iPhone experience for the car”, the upgrade is set to include “designs for each car maker” that will best suit your vehicle brand and model. This is a key point, as reported VergeWhich represents a significant development issue for the new feature.
Automakers like Mercedes-Benz were understandably reluctant to allow Apple to come between them and their customer for a critical component inside a vehicle. As the report explains, “The result is an approach to CarPlay that is much less ‘Apple drives your car’ and more ‘Apple has created a design toolkit for automakers that they can use as they wish’.”
We’re not yet at a stage where the full specifications or capabilities of CarPlay are known, but there will be adaptability, and perhaps even restrictions, to whatever each manufacturer has in mind for the system they install in their car.
Resistance from big brands to CarPlay
Apple’s new “punch-through UI” gives brands the ability to design their own interface with other controls on CarPlay and toggle between the two. At WWDC, Apple made it clear that automakers will retain significant control over how things will look, as evidenced by two videos from the conference detailing current intentions for the design and manufacturing of CarPlay.
The new UI will also be able to match the features offered by various auto brands, such as HVAC controls, reverse camera display, and more.
Apple has several big companies, including Ford and Porsche, that have agreed to incorporate dedicated infotainment systems like CarPlay in this case. Audi, Aston Martin and Chevrolet are also on the list, but it’s not all good news.
Tesla And General Motors is among the few big brands moving forward with its own plans and dashboards that will disable CarPlay as well as Android Auto. This is not a setback, but another symptom of the clash between big tech and automakers in the battle for control.
Image Credit: Apple
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