Apple Inc. wants to power the dashboard of your next car, but first it has to convince automakers that they won’t surrender future profits to the iPhone company like the makers of flip-phone handsets.
Apple on Monday previewed a new generation of its CarPlay software that will migrate from its current home on the entertainment screen to driving everything in front of the driver.
While moving from one screen to another may seem like a small step for Apple, it is a huge leap forward in terms of both technical and business engagement between the iPhone maker and the world’s automakers.
Electric vehicle leader Tesla Inc. has proven the popularity of a large in-vehicle screen and fully integrated software with consumers. Carmakers are pushing for controlling relationships with consumers in a more software-dominated car as a way to generate more profit.
The current version of Apple CarPlay, available in 98% of new cars in the United States, is fundamentally limited in its capabilities.
CarPlay apps reside on the vehicle’s entertainment screen and can play music or podcasts once a user connects their iPhone to the car. But the software can’t control even the basic functions of the vehicle like changing climate control settings.
Presenters at Apple’s developer conference on Monday showed a slide with the logos of more than a dozen automotive brands, including Ford, Mercedes, Audi and Porsche. Apple says carmakers are “excited” about the concept of dashboard displays that provide a more consistent Apple look and feel.
To do this, the iPhones will communicate with the vehicle’s real-time driving system for the first time – an important step toward potentially powering autonomous driving functions by Apple in the future.
Representatives of some of those brands described their companies as interested but said no decision had yet been made for future models.
“We are working with Apple on this development project,” a Porsche spokesperson said.
automakers are the gatekeepers
Automakers are wary of Apple and other tech giants. He observed how phone makers such as Motorola and Nokia and the once-powers of the music industry shrank as the iPhone and Android smartphones consumed those businesses.
“There is no question that this is a threat because automakers, especially as we transition to software-defined vehicles, realize that they run a significant risk of losing the ability to interact with the consumer. , unless they do their job together,” said Evangelos Simoudis, a Silicon Valley venture capital investor and advisor who follows connected vehicle technology closely.
At the same time, large automakers know that their current entertainment systems are a frequent cause of consumer complaints to quality scorekeepers at J.D. Power & Associates and other market research firms.
In China, young consumers are turning their backs on established brands in part because their connectivity doesn’t match what Tesla or China’s own technology-industry electric vehicle startup has to offer.
The next generation vehicles from major automakers will have huge dashboard screens. For example, Mercedes-Benz has shown off a prototype Vision EQ4 electric sedan with a 47.5-inch (121 cm) wide display screen, and will offer functions such as an “efficiency assistant” that calculates the most fuel-efficient route one can take. Travel
Now the competition is over who will develop the software to power such displays, who will control the data flowing to and from customers on board the vehicle, and who will be there to generate revenue when vehicles roll off the road.
Automakers have an advantage over former phone handset makers: They are the gatekeepers of vehicles’ critical electronic systems, subject to extensive government security regulation and hardware durability requirements that are far more stringent than those of the smartphone industry.
There are signs that automakers and technology industry companies are coming to terms. Alphabet Inc’s Google has tied up with General Motors Company, Volvo Cars and the Renault-Nissan Alliance to provide software for next-generation systems. Amazon.com has cut deals with automakers to integrate its Alexa voice assistant into vehicles.
At Apple, Emily Schubert, an engineering manager for the car experience at Apple, said during Monday’s conference that using the new software, “your iPhone communicates with your vehicle’s real-time system in an on-device, privacy-friendly way.” Shows all your driving information.
The software also hints at Apple’s future in autonomous driving.
While Reuters has previously reported that Apple could release its own electric vehicle with the autonomous feature in 2024 or early 2025, moving its software to the instrument cluster moves the iPhone maker closer to major vehicle systems and Apple. needs to be used to provide autonomous driving. Software for other companies.
“Cars have changed a lot, with sizable screens and a whole lot of them in the car,” Schubert said as a keynote speaker. “There is an opportunity for the iPhone to play an even more important role.”
Apple announced the software long before it was publicly released, and said cars using it wouldn’t be announced until late next year. It appears that Apple is giving automakers a lot of time to adapt the new CarPlay software, an acknowledgment that the final form of the software may differ for Fords and Ferraris.
0 notes
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
for the latest auto news And reviewFollow carandbike.com Twitter, Facebookand subscribe to us youtube Channel.