New Apple iOS in the car

Published Date: 31st Jan 2014

Apple iOS Coming Soon for Your Car

A lot of today’s new cars feature a touchscreen infotainment system, with a number of them looking remarkably like a high-end tablet device. So it was only a matter of time before the two technologies converged.
This idea seems to be a little closer to reality now, with images and videos leaked on the internet showing a highly advanced version of Apple’s iOS in the Car system.
It’s not clear how the app developer Steven Troughton-Smith sourced the images, but with the new version of iOS set for release soon, the timing appears to fit.

What is Apple iOS?
iOS is Apple’s device operating system, and it appeared first on the iPhone in 2007. Today it is used on the likes of the iPad, iPod Touch and of course, the iPhone. The system uses a display based on multi-touch gestures, including swipe, tap and pinch. iOS in the Car seeks to add drive to this list.
Apple announced iOS in the Car last year, when it released iOS 7 – the latest version of its mobile touchscreen operating system.
The iOS in the Car will allow an iOS-enabled device to take control of the in-car display. Which – depending on your opinion of Apple products –will either be a massive step forward, or a disaster

What will Apple iOS in the Car do?
If your iPhone or iPad can do it, then there’s a good chance that iOS in the Car can do it, although we would advise against playing a quick game of Angry Birds while doing 70mph in the outside lane of the M4.
If you think about functions currently offered by modern infotainment systems, then give them the Apple feel, and you won’t be too far from the truth. So access to maps, navigation, telephone, messages, music and social networks would appear to be the most obvious and logical functions.
The system will be using Apple’s trademark multi-touch gesture format, and will have voice-control via Siri (Apple’s voice-activated assistant system). The exciting part is that by syncing with an iOS-enabled product, the in-car unit could be personalised to the driver. A particularly useful function if there is more than one person driving the car.

When will it be available?
Apple is currently listing iOS in the Car as "coming soon", the rumours are that it will be bundled with the new iOS 7.1 update, in March 2014.
iOS 7 is currently in its fourth stage of beta testing, a female voice is expected to be rolled out for Siri. Which may or may not have anything to do with the satellite navigation function within in the Car.?
Crucially, the beta version includes a reference to 'Car Display with the Settings of iOS', with a steering wheel logo just alongside it.