Apple said last year that they were working on bringing iOS into your car. Today, it’s becoming reality. The iPhone maker has lifted the lid on CarPlay, partnering with several car makers to bring a “smarter [and] safer way to use your iPhone in the car”.
CarPlay will let drivers access content from their iPhone to their car’s onboard entertainment system, such as music to listen while on the road or Apple Maps for turn-by-turn directions. It will also include Siri – so drivers can make calls, listen to voicemail and dictate messages to send out while driving.
Ferrari, Mercades-Benz, Volvo, Hyundai, Honda, Jaguar and Volvo are expected to have cars with CarPlay support by the end of the year. Other car makers – including BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Kia, Land Rover and Toyota – are expected to have cars with CarPlay in the near future.
“CarPlay has been designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s Vice President of their iPhone and iOS Product Marketing, said in a press statement.
“iPhone users always want their content at their fingertips and CarPlay lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimized distraction.”
Only Lightning-enabled iPhones – which currently are the iPhone 5, iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c – with the upcoming update to iOS 7 will be supported by CarPlay. There is no word if this feature will ever make it past the United States.