Dennis Sellers for Apple World Today:
Apple has filed for a patent (number 20190339094) for a “voice and touch user interface” for an automobile.
In the patent filing, Apple says that many autos provide dashboard computers with navigation and content applications. However, most dashboard computer solutions “rely on unintuitive user interfaces that are difficult to operate in a hands-free and safe manner while driving,” the tech giant adds. Obviously, Apple thinks it can do better.
MacDailyNews Take: Certainly, Apple can do better!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Brawndo Drinker” for the heads up.]
“Hey Siri..try not to kill us driving on the interstate”
… and after it kills you it tells the police well they just asked me to try not guarantee their safety, they really should be more precise.
So a VOICE and touch interface…
Does this mean that Apple is still pursuing implementing their original announcement of years ago when they originally announced CarPlay and claimed it would be hands free and eyes free, i.e., you won’t have to take your eyes off the road to interact with CarPlay?
A totally hands free and eyes free interface would be the best if you’re actively driving the car. Too bad CarPlay is nothing like that today. While many things can be done through voice today, I find that the vast majority of what I want to do through CarPlay still requires me to look at the dashboard screen and touch icons to get the actions done.
Maybe some day in some alternate reality CarPlay will reach that goal of it being both hands free and eyes free.
Not quite to iRobot territory yet……
Eyes free would be great, but there will likely be problems with that on an ongoing basis. How many times when you use voice do you stumble with what to say? I love Siri but its not just her fault when things go wrong. To see a display is to understand and fix. Would love to be wrong about this prediction…
While I’m at it, why doesnt Apple have a CarPlay app for the phone for those of us who don’t have a CarPlay headunit in our car? If they really cared about safety, they would make a phone version of CarPlay for those of us with legacy cars. A no brainer, even if it slightly compromised their leverage to sell cars.