Add to favorites The in-car technology uses BlackBerry’s QNX operating system.
Apple released its in-car technology called CarPlay at the Geneva International Motor Show, which it hopes will allows drivers to make calls, use Maps, listen to music and access messages hands-free.
The system replicates the iPhone’s interface on the car’s dashboard screen using the Lightning Connector, but requires Apple’s latest mobile software, the iOS 7, and an iPhone 5.
CBR tells you five things you need to know about the latest system.
1. How does it work?
The idea is that users plug their iPhone into their car, so they can make calls, request music and use maps with voice commands instead of touching the screen.
While CarPlay connects to iPhones using the Lightning Connector, BlackBerry’s QNX operating system, which it acquired back in 2010, also supports the technology.
Paul Lerouxm, public relations manager at QNX software system, said: "Many automakers and tier one automotive suppliers use our platform to implement smartphone/head-unit integration in their vehicles.
"We have a long-standing partnership with Apple to ensure high-quality connectivity with their devices, and this partnership extends to support for Apple CarPlay."
2. Apps
The tech giant’s voice assistant technology, Siri, is the centre of the new technology, which can be accessed via a voice control button on the steering wheel. With this, users will be able to make calls, use Maps, return missed calls and listen to voicemails.
CarPlay also uses Apple Maps, which anticipates destinations based on emails and text messages.
Gartner analyst Thilo Koslowski told CBR: "There’s a certain level of intelligence in this system that tries to figure out where you’re going and make that suggestion to you, which goes a little bit into the Internet of Thing’s (IoT) ability to really understand what the user is trying to do."
CarPlay also allows drivers to access music and radio content through the car’s stereo, with Beats Radio, iHeartRadio, Stitcher and Spotify among the confirmed apps that will work with it.
"The one missing from the list is Pandora, so you can see Apple almost certainly wants to use this channel in the vehicle as a way to dictate and control the content that goes into it," said Koslowski.
"It doesn’t want to necessarily introduce competitive values and applications, and also really focus on those things that make Apple more successful."
