Image courtesy of Apple
Apple has announced a number of automobile partners will be rolling out CarPlay, a system to integrate the iPhone into cars.
“CarPlay gives iPhone users an incredibly intuitive way to make calls, use Maps, listen to music and access messages with just a word or a touch,” the company said in a statement.
When an iPhone is connected to CarPlay, the system allows the driver to access contacts, make calls and listen to voicemails. Siri provides an eyes-free system when incoming calls or messages arrive, delivering voice activated features for answering calls and reading messages.
Vehicle manufacturers Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo will be premiering their CarPlay systems this week.
Land Rover, BMW, Nissan and Ford have also confirmed plans to incorporate CarPlay into their vehicles.
Cars will be fitted with a dashboard interface and a Siri activation button on the steering wheel that will enable drivers to safely access features on their iPhones.
“CarPlay has been designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPhone and iOS Product Marketing.
“iPhone users always want their content at their fingertips and CarPlay lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimised distraction. We have an amazing lineup of auto partners rolling out CarPlay, and we’re thrilled it will make its debut this week in Geneva,” he said.
CarPlay is available as a free update to iOS 7 and is supported on the iPhone 5, iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.
