“The Corvette was one of the first 4G cars GM debuted this year, and among the first vehicles to get the upgrade allowing it to support both CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto,” Kevin Fitchard reports for Fortune. “I was one of the few to get a hands-on demo of CarPlay in the Corvette and even test out the system with my own iPhone.”
“My initial impressions were positive, although I did experience a glitch with Apple Music,” Fitchard reports. “There’s nothing mind-blowing about CarPlay’s interface or design, but its simplicity is what’s most compelling about it. The last thing you want to do when driving in rush-hour traffic is deal with complex or unfamiliar dashboard controls. Anyone accustomed to using iOS will have no problem simply plugging their phone in and hitting the road.”
“Any iPhone linked to the car projects a scaled-down version of the iOS interface into the infotainment screen and then maps its touchscreen controls. There are no native iPhone apps in the car, and CarPlay itself actually runs inside of your phone,” Fitchard reports. “Apart from the music glitch, I found the whole CarPlay setup quite impressive, not because the design and features blew me away, but precisely because they didn’t. Interacting with CarPlay was almost exactly like interacting with my iPhone.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote back in April:
Apple’s CarPlay is (finally) the right strategy (as is Google’s knockoff of it). Most vehicles will eventually come with support for both CarPlay and derivative mobile operating systems, since car makers want to make their vehicles accessible to everybody. Well, maybe the luxury brands like BMW, Mercedes, etc. could skip the Android integration (not much demographic overlap there), but the Kias and Chevy’s of the world will want to make sure they can support iPhone knockoffs, too.
SEE ALSO:
2016 Honda Accord delivers Apple CarPlay – July 24, 2015
Apple’s CarPlay success shows the power of having a long-term strategy – March 15, 2015
Apple’s real CarPlay: Cupertino doesn’t need to build cars in order to reinvent driving – February 28, 2015
Ford drops reputation-scorching Microsoft Sync, enables support for Apple’s sought-after CarPlay – December 12, 2014
Apple’s CarPlay looks like the future of in-car infotainment – April 13, 2014
Still have to plug in your iPhone. Will wait until it wirelessly displays CarPlay.
Wish I could swap out my 2012 BMW’s system. It’s simply dreadful.
My wife has leased an x3. Great fit and finish, tight ride and steering. AWFUL interface. And that ‘mouse’ device on the center console is in a very bad position and can be moved easily by an arm or her bag. CarPlay would be a welcome change here.
Hey, what about Ford and Microsoft’s Sync?!!!
Exactly…I will never touch a Ford with Microsoft in it.
My 07 Fusion is one of the last to not have it, but it’s getting up there in miles (177k). The Mrs C-Max Hybrid has it. Terrible. Warned her….fortunately the rest of the family listened.
It looks like all Ford vehicles will have Sync 3 by the end of the year. Sync 3 is based on QNX software and has CarPlay.
“Interacting with CarPlay was almost exactly like interacting with my iPhone.”
This is BAD. For way too much of what you have to do on an iPhone you have to look at the screen and touch the screen for the CarPlay interface to be the same.
Where is the “hands free *and* eyes free” version we were promised two years ago? I’m still waiting for that!
While I’m sure the CarPlay interface and functionality is MUCH better than what Google or any other company is putting forth, Apple does need to deliver fully on that “Hands Free and Eyes Free” promise.
In this current implementation you use the ‘projection’ function to access CarPlay. At some point in the future it would be desirable to have iOS be the default OS for the car’s non-critical infotainment systems.
Having said that, I can understand the automakers’ reluctance to have iOS be the default when the reliability of Apple’s services has not been stellar. Apple needs to earn back the ‘It just works’ credibility they have lost in recent years before earning the trust of the automakers.
Apple also needs to dramatically improve heat dissipation of the iPhone if it is to truly function in the full environment if a car. I frequently have to put the iPhone between the slots of the front dashboard A/C vent to keep it cool. When it’s plugged in and charging that battery gets hot. Add to that streaming music and Maps operation and it will overheat and shut down without the direct A/C cooling. The current design is not going to work in an Apple car, that for sure.