Cupertino The most valuable technology company in the world Apple continues to push into the car market. With a revised version of its Carplay software, Apple wants to evaluate central systems in the vehicle, such as speed, tank filling, oil level and navigation.
“We’ve been working with automakers to reinvent the in-car experience across all screens,” said Emily Schubert, Apple’s general manager, at the annual WWDC developer conference on Monday. The partners include German car brands such as Mercedes, Audi and Porsche. The first cars with the new system are to be launched on the market next year.
Until now, Carplay was mainly able to transfer the content from the iPhone to the screen in the car. In the future, drivers will be able to use it to control functions of the car, such as the air conditioning system. In a demonstration of the revised software, Carplay took over the display on a monitor in front of the driver’s steering wheel with information such as the speed, the tank level and the number of revolutions. The navigation system and information about the temperature in the vehicle were displayed on a further display. “We bring together the best of the car with the best of the iPhone,” said Apple MANAGER Schubert.
There will be a “deep integration with the hardware of the car,” announced Schubert. Sensor data from the vehicle could be read out in real time. This is just a foretaste of the extensive functions of the new Carplay system.
Several carmakers worked with Apple, Schubert said, showing a slide showing 14 car brands. In addition to the German suppliers, these included brands such as Volvo, Nissan, Ford and Jaguar. The Handelsblatt had asked several car manufacturers for details of the cooperation. A response to this was still pending at first.
Apple MANAGER Schubert did not provide any specific information on the exact launch of the new system. She only said that the first vehicles supporting the new Carplay would be announced next year.
The control of the central systems in the vehicle is actually one of the core competencies of the car manufacturers. Mercedes announced in April that it would invest more than 200 million euros in a so-called Electric Software Hub in Sindelfingen to bundle software, hardware and system integration.
A number of companies from the technology sector are trying to penetrate the automotive sector with their own solutions. The Chinese technology group Baidu is also working with German carmakers and is initially offering its DuerOS operating system for free. Until now, Carplay from Apple was mostly a variant of the applications on the iPhone adapted to the screen of the vehicle. With the latest developments, Apple is also moving towards an operating system for the car.
The extended carplay was one of Apple’s most important announcements at the developer conference. In addition, the next generation of Macbook Air and Macbook Pro laptops was presented, which will be delivered with an improved version of the M2 chip developed by Apple itself.
Apple also introduced the new version of the iPhone operating system iOS 16, with which, among other things, there should be the possibility to personalize the lock screen. Functions such as weather forecasts, scores of sporting events or a link to apps such as that of the ride-hailing service Uber will be available directly in the future. The Android smartphone operating system from Apple rival Google has been offering similar functions for several years.
The iPhone will be a laptop camera
Apple also introduced a feature that turns the iPhone into a camera for the laptop. The powerful camera is ideal for video conferencing, software BOSS Craig Federighi explained the move. The feature is to be rolled out for Mac laptops. Apple initially left open whether laptops with the Windows operating system will also receive the function.
The group also expanded its Apple Pay payment functions. In the future, users will be able to make purchases in up to four installments. There would be no fees or interest for this. Apple is thus copying functions of payment service providers such as PayPal and Klarna. In addition, the company announced that in the future, retailers will also be able to receive payments with Apple and an iPhone will be sufficient as a terminal device.
The map app from Apple should be able to plan routes with up to 15 stops in the future. The Apple Watch will have an improved function to detect and analyze sleep phases.
With the Passkeys function, users of Apple devices should be able to dispense with passwords. Instead of passwords, a crypto key is created for biometric login with face recognition FaceID or fingerprint. These crypto keys can also be shared across platforms via various Apple devices and thanks to cooperation with other companies. The advantage of the method is that it does not create passwords that are repeated from service to service or can be captured by hackers with the help of phishing emails.
