“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