iCar: Apple makes biggest in-vehicle play yet with Carplay

If you’re an iFan and fancy buying a new Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz or Volvo, this news could make you very happy. Apple has officially unveiled Carplay, which it says will give iPhone users an intuitive way to make calls, use Maps, listen to music and access messages with “just a word or a touch”.

The basic idea behind Car Play is to make your iPhone and the system in your car work better together. So, for instance, once your iPhone is connected, Siri is meant to help you access your contacts, make calls, return missed calls or listen to voicemails.

When incoming messages or notifications arrive, meanwhile, Siri is meant to provide an eyes-free experience by responding to requests through voice commands, by reading drivers’ messages and letting them dictate responses or make a call.

According to Apple, CarPlay makes driving directions “more intuitive” by working with Maps to anticipate destinations based on recent trips via contacts, emails or texts, and provides routing instructions, traffic conditions and ETA.

You can also apparently ask Siri and receive spoken turn-by-turn directions, along with Maps, which will appear on your car’s built-in display.

Apple also says that CarPlay will give drivers access to all of their music, podcasts, audiobooks and iTunes Radio with “easy navigation through listening choices from the car’s built-in controls or simply by asking Siri to pull up what you’d like to hear”. In addition, CarPlay supports select third-party audio apps including Spotify and iHeartRadio.

“CarPlay has been designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car,” says 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 minimized distraction”.