Cupertino The most valuable technology company in the world Apple is pushing further into the car market. With a revised version of its car software Carplay, Apple wants to evaluate central systems in the vehicle, such as speed, fuel level, oil level and navigation.
“We’ve been working with automakers to reinvent the in-vehicle experience across all screens,” Apple executive Emily Schubert said Monday at the annual WWDC developer conference. The partners include German car brands such as Mercedes, Audi and Porsche. The first cars with the new system are expected to come onto the market in the coming year.
So far, Carplay has mainly been able to transfer content from the iPhone to the screen in the car. In the future, drivers should be able to use it to control car functions such as the air conditioning. In a demonstration of the revised software, Carplay took over displaying information such as speed, fuel level and number of revolutions on a monitor in front of the driver’s steering wheel. The navigation system and information about the temperature in the vehicle were shown on another display. “We bring the best of the car together with the best of the iPhone,” said Apple manager Schubert.
Schubert announced that there would be “deep integration with the car’s hardware”. 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.
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A number of car manufacturers work with Apple, said Schubert and showed a slide with 14 car brands. In addition to the German providers, this also included brands such as Volvo, Nissan, Ford and Jaguar. The Handelsblatt had asked several car manufacturers about the details of the cooperation. A response to this was initially pending.
llThe revised system for cars should be able to evaluate information such as speed, tank filling or oil level.
(Photo: apple)
Apple manager Schubert did not give any specific information about the exact start of the new system. She only said that the first vehicles that support the new Carplay would be announced in the coming year.
The control of the central systems in the vehicle is actually one of the core competencies of the car manufacturer. 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 car manufacturers and is initially offering its DuerOS operating system free of charge. Up until now, Apple’s Carplay has mostly been a version of the iPhone application adapted to the vehicle’s screen. With the latest developments, Apple is also moving towards an operating system for the car.
The extended Carplay was one of the most important announcements from Apple at the developer conference. In addition, the next generation of the Macbook Air and Macbook Pro laptops were presented, which are supplied with an improved version of the M2 chip developed by Apple.
Apple also introduced the new version of the iPhone operating system iOS 16, with which there should be the possibility, among other things, to personalize the lock screen. Functions such as weather forecasts, scores from sporting events or a link to apps such as that of the driving service provider Uber should be directly available in the future. The smartphone operating system Android from Apple’s rival Google has been offering similar functions for several years.
The iPhone becomes 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 conferences, software boss Craig Federighi justified the step. The function 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 should be able to make purchases in up to four installments. There would be no fees or interest for this. Apple is copying functions of payment service providers such as PayPal and Klarna. The company also announced that retailers will also be able to receive payments with Apple in the future, and that an iPhone will suffice as a terminal device.
The new operating system IOS 16 includes more options for personalizing the lock screen.
(Photo: via REUTERS)
In the future, Apple’s map app will be able to plan routes with up to 15 stops. The Apple Watch should get an improved function to recognize and analyze sleep phases.
With the Passkeys function, users of Apple devices should be able to do without passwords. Instead of passwords, a crypto key is created for biometric registration with FaceID facial recognition or a fingerprint. These crypto keys can be shared across different Apple devices and, thanks to cooperation with other companies, also across platforms. The advantage of the procedure is that no passwords are created that are repeated from service to service or that can be captured by hackers with the help of phishing emails.
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