UNITED STATES:
Apple CarPlay The interface is used by millions of drivers to control music, receive directions and make phone calls, looking to expand its range in cars.The company is working on technology that will have access to features such as a climate control system, speedometer, radio and seats, according to people familiar with the effort. The initiative, known as IronHeart internally, is still in its infancy and will require the cooperation of carmakers.
The work underscores the idea that cars can be a major money earner for the tech giant without even selling the vehicle itself. While the plans for Apple cars have faced failures, including CEOs this year, the company continues to make its way with CarPlay. It allows customers to connect their iPhones to a vehicle to handle so-called infotainment features. Seven years after its launch, CarPlay is available from most major car manufacturers.
IronHeart will take CarPlay one step further. The iPhone-based system can access a number of controls, sensors and settings, said people who asked not to be identified because the project is secret.
This includes:
- indications for indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity
- temperature zones, fans and defrost systems
- settings for adjusting surround sound speakers, equalizers, tweeters, subwoofers and fading and balance
- seats and armrests
- speedometer, tachometer and groups of fuel instruments
An Apple spokesman declined to comment on the plans for cars of the California-based company in Cupertino. Shares of Apple rose 1.2% at the beginning of trading on Thursday in New York.
By gaining access to controls and tools, Apple can turn CarPlay into an interface that can cover almost the entire car. The data can also be used by Apple or third parties to create new types of applications or add features to existing features. Some Apple users complain about the need to switch between CarPlay and the in-car key control system. This initiative would alleviate this friction.
The effort will be similar to Apple’s approach to health and home technology. The company offers an iPhone application that accesses and summarizes data from external health devices using its HealthKit protocol. Meanwhile, the Home app uses Apple’s HomeKit system, including thermostats, security cameras and door locks.
IronHeart will be Apple’s strongest push in cars since the launch of CarPlay in 2014, but may not be a hit among carmakers. They may be reluctant to hand over control of key features to Apple. While CarPlay is already in more than 600 car models, other Apple initiatives launched in recent years are slowing down more slowly with carmakers.
In 2015, Apple began allowing carmakers to create third-party CarPlay applications that have access to in-car radio, GPS and climate control. In 2019, it began supporting CarPlay on secondary car screens as digital instrument clusters. A year later he announced CarKey, a feature to unlock a car with an iPhone or Apple Watch, and routing of electric vehicles, the iPhone’s ability to sense when it’s connected to an electric car and provide charger information in the map view.
But carmakers are mostly refusing to add these improvements. Climate control and radio applications are only supported by a few cars. And the EV routing feature is not available for vehicles that are currently shipped. The CarPlay display extension is only supported by a few brands, such as BMW and Volkswagen, and CarKey is only available on some BMWs.
In 2015, Apple began allowing carmakers to create third-party CarPlay applications that have access to in-car radio, GPS and climate control. In 2019, it began supporting CarPlay on secondary car screens as digital instrument clusters. A year later, he announced CarKey, a feature for unlocking a car with an iPhone or Apple Watch, and routing electric vehicles, the iPhone’s ability to sense when it’s connected to an electric car and provide charger information in a map view.
But carmakers are mostly refusing to add these improvements. Climate control and radio applications are only supported by a few cars. And the EV routing feature is not available for vehicles that are currently shipped. The CarPlay display extension is only supported by a few brands, such as BMW and Volkswagen, and CarKey is only available on some BMWs.
Some manufacturers, perhaps more of them, embrace Apple’s technology. They can also choose to implement the functions in different ways depending on the car. In some vehicles, Apple may gain control of climate control, while others may only offer access to speakers.
For Apple, the project could provide insights useful for its efforts to build a self-driving car. However, the company will not collect user or car data as part of the initiative.
After leaving Fieep, the iPhone has established itself in the daily lives of customers. Each time the device handles more tasks such as using a car, paying for groceries, displaying an ID card or unlocking a house door, this gives users another reason to remain iPhone users.
Then they are more likely to upgrade to newer models and be avoided by phone competitors. Even with pressure from Apple in new areas, the iPhone remains the company’s biggest money maker, accounting for about half of sales, or nearly $ 138 billion last year.
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