iOS in the Car Development Plagued by Organizational Issues

MacRumors · Jan 28, 2014

Organizational issues have been plaguing Apple's development of iOS in the Car, according to The Information's Jessica E. Lessin (via AppleInsider). Because iOS in the Car did not fit neatly into an existing hardware or software team at Apple, executives reportedly "didn't quite know what to do" with the program.

iOS in the Car from iOS 7.1 (Source: Denis Stas)

The disconnect is attributed primarily to overarching organizational issues that are said to place pressure on non-hardware products that do not fit within existing teams.

Even in the lead-up to iOS in the Car's high-profile unveiling at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference last June, executives were reportedly still unsure about the product's future.

According to Lessin, the team working on iOS in the Car was forced to "lobby hard" for stage time during the Worldwide Developers Conference where the product was first demonstrated.

Since that time, iOS in the Car has been listed as an iOS 7 feature "Coming Soon" on Apple's website with no update on its availability. The feature is intended to provide enhanced iOS integration in automobiles, offering an iOS-style interface on the car's touchscreen dash that allows users to make phone calls, access Maps, control music, and more.

Recently, developer Steven Troughton-Smith released both screenshots and a video of iOS in the Car in action, as the software is partially built into iOS 7.0.3 but unaccessible by default.

The iOS in the Car content shared by Troughton-Smith appears to confirm some of Apple's struggles with the software. While one design is depicted in the video, Troughton-Smith's screenshots and commentary on Twitter indicate that iOS in the Car has undergone a redesign from its early depiction on Apple's website and at least one other redesign in iOS 7.1, which is currently available for developers.

Video of iOS in the Car in iOS 7.1 (Source: Denis Stas)

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that iOS in the Car is a "key focus" for Apple and the company believes that "having something in the automobile is very important," but it remains unclear when iOS in the Car might make its official debut.

While many car makers have expressed interest in including iOS in the Car in their 2014 models, cars with the feature have yet to materialize. Thus far, in-car integration with Apple devices remains largely limited to Siri Eyes Free and Honda's HondaLink, which falls well short of full iOS in the Car functionality.

Article Link: iOS in the Car Development Plagued by Organizational Issues

osx11 · Jan 28, 2014

I doubt this will make an official debut before iOS 8!

macduke · Jan 28, 2014

I really want this feature in my next car. Hopefully Subaru gets it. Having the iPhone in a mount on my dashboard doesn't compare. The buttons have far too small of a hit target and text labels when sitting back in a seat.

Porco · Jan 28, 2014

I'm sure they just need to run over this again a few times.

carjakester · Jan 28, 2014

if there wasn't issues they wouldn't be doing anything. Issues lead to progress.

smulji · Jan 28, 2014

carjakester said:
if there wasn't issues they wouldn't be doing anything. Issues lead to progress.

sure, as long as the issues get fixed.

DTphonehome · Jan 28, 2014

I really hope this feature comes to fruition. In car interfaces are absolutely awful, and Apple has a huge opportunity here to make some big progress.

Rogifan · Jan 28, 2014

Wow so big companies have organizational issues. Color me shocked!

SusanK · Jan 28, 2014

DTphonehome said:
I really hope this feature comes to fruition. In car interfaces are absolutely awful, and Apple has a huge opportunity here to make some big progress.

If Apple ever stops talking about innovation and starts innovating

Teste · Jan 28, 2014

So, forget the iWatch and the iTV, it's the time of the...

...iCar!!!

/gizmodo

LordVic · Jan 28, 2014

this is not something I see apple really doing well in. They might have a better time with some sort of mountable 2nd screen or 3rd party head unit that can be installed.

but if Apple wants to be able to sell this as a built in headunit for a car, they're going to have to allow it to communicate with all platforms, including Android and WinPho8.

People purchasing cars that are dozens fo thousands of dollars aren't going to be happy to then be stuck with a "smart" headunit that can only talk to iOS devices.

I know when I bought a car a couple years ago, which i spent a good chunk of my income on. If you told me the only way to get most of the functionality out of the headunit was getting an iPhone, I would have likely walked out of the dealership.

Krevnik · Jan 28, 2014

LordVic said:
this is not something I see apple really doing well in. They might have a better time with some sort of mountable 2nd screen or 3rd party head unit that can be installed.

but if Apple wants to be able to sell this as a built in headunit for a car, they're going to have to allow it to communicate with all platforms, including Android and WinPho8.

Apple's not making their own head unit. They are engineering the protocol between the iPhone and the head unit, and providing the software in iOS itself. Think AppRadio, only baked into iOS. The head unit needs to support the protocol (AirPlay over USB + Touch Input back to the phone over USB).

firedept · Jan 28, 2014

I wonder how the car manufacturers will deal with this. Having integration with IOS only, could not be a smart decision. I would only assume you would have to be able to integrate with any one of the ios, android or windows systems, so car manufacturers would not to be turning customers off or away.

Guess it comes down to maybe being able to order which operating system you require as an option before taking possesion. Would hate to be the owner then, that has both an iphone and an android.

Krevnik · Jan 28, 2014

firedept said:
I wonder how the car manufacturers will deal with this. Having integration with IOS only, could not be a smart decision. I would only assume you would have to be able to integrate with any one of the ios, android or windows systems, so car manufacturers would not to be turning customers off or away.

Guess it comes down to maybe being able to order which operating system you require as an option before taking possesion. Would hate to be the owner then, that has both an iphone and an android.

I'll expound a bit on my previous post to make this clear what iOS in the Car is:

The whole goal here is to let the phone export video to the head unit and accept touch input from it. Nothing more. By keeping the software on the phone itself, it reduces problems in the long run. This isn't new technology.

AppRadio, MirrorLink, iOS in the Car. They are all really the same thing in the end. Just different implementations of the same idea. If a head unit supports both MirrorLink and iOS in the Car, they cover both Android devices and iOS. You already see Pioneer units that support both their AppRadio system for iOS/Android and MirrorLink for Android units.

And this won't replace existing inputs in head units either. It is just another 'mode' the head unit can be in.

haruhiko · Jan 28, 2014

iOS in the car? I guess a more viable solution is to have a standard of in car display that supports wireless video and audio input eg AirPlay etc.

QCassidy352 · Jan 28, 2014

LordVic said:
but if Apple wants to be able to sell this as a built in headunit for a car, they're going to have to allow it to communicate with all platforms, including Android and WinPho8.

People purchasing cars that are dozens fo thousands of dollars aren't going to be happy to then be stuck with a "smart" headunit that can only talk to iOS devices.

I know when I bought a car a couple years ago, which i spent a good chunk of my income on. If you told me the only way to get most of the functionality out of the headunit was getting an iPhone, I would have likely walked out of the dealership.

this isn't hardware - it's going to display on cars' existing in-dash screens. Google and MS can work with auto makers to allow their mobile operating systems to display in a similar manner, but that has nothing to do with Apple. I would assume the car makers would not leave iOS as the only option but rather would allow the buyer access to the auto maker's existing propriety system (such as Ford's SYNC or BMW's iDrive) if and when an iphone is not connected.

If any auto maker replaces their own system with iOS in the Car and doesn't also work with other mobile OS vendors... well then I would expect that auto maker to lose a good deal of non-apple-using business. But again, that's really on the car makers, not Apple.

pnoyblazed · Jan 28, 2014

am I the only one here that has zero interest in this?

Krevnik · Jan 28, 2014

haruhiko said:
iOS in the car? I guess a more viable solution is to have a standard of in car display that supports wireless video and audio input eg AirPlay etc.

iOS in the Car does use AirPlay for display (not sure yet if the wireless part will be used). You still need a component to accept the touch inputs coming the other way from the in-dash touch screen though. So it can't just be AirPlay.

pnoyblazed said:
am I the only one here that has zero interest in this?

Maybe. I almost bought an AppRadio but the performance issues bothered me too much. If Apple opens up the framework for this to 3rd party devs, it would mean that you could potentially convince say, Navigon to enable their app for it, and pretty much use whatever GPS app you want in your car just by plugging in your phone (or maybe using WiFi direct). About all I care about in a car is: my music, my podcasts, and turn-by-turn. If I could control it all from the in-dash screen with good performance? Perfect.

UnfetteredMind · Jan 28, 2014

Krevnik said:
I'll expound a bit on my previous post to make this clear what iOS in the Car is:

The whole goal here is to let the phone export video to the head unit and accept touch input from it. Nothing more. By keeping the software on the phone itself, it reduces problems in the long run. This isn't new technology.

AppRadio, MirrorLink, iOS in the Car. They are all really the same thing in the end. Just different implementations of the same idea. If a head unit supports both MirrorLink and iOS in the Car, they cover both Android devices and iOS. You already see Pioneer units that support both their AppRadio system for iOS/Android and MirrorLink for Android units.

And this won't replace existing inputs in head units either. It is just another 'mode' the head unit can be in.

Quoting so people get another chance to read and understand

This is not forcing the auto manufacturers or consumers to choose ONE mobile platform. The in-car system can support multiple (iOS, Android, Windows, whatever else might come along) if the auto manufacturer's system is designed properly and is updatable.

firedept · Jan 28, 2014

Krevnik said:
I'll expound a bit on my previous post to make this clear what iOS in the Car is:

The whole goal here is to let the phone export video to the head unit and accept touch input from it. Nothing more. By keeping the software on the phone itself, it reduces problems in the long run. This isn't new technology.

AppRadio, MirrorLink, iOS in the Car. They are all really the same thing in the end. Just different implementations of the same idea. If a head unit supports both MirrorLink and iOS in the Car, they cover both Android devices and iOS. You already see Pioneer units that support both their AppRadio system for iOS/Android and MirrorLink for Android units.

And this won't replace existing inputs in head units either. It is just another 'mode' the head unit can be in.

That makes things much clearer. Appreciated!

NutsNGum · Jan 28, 2014

Looks like a 2-dot-something release of Android, back when they just started releasing a flurry of tablets. i.e. Crappy.

robjulo · Jan 28, 2014

The only place this will make an appearance will be in technology package upgrades that will run $3 to 4 thousand dollars. You aren't seeing this in any base models.

tbrand7 · Jan 28, 2014

LordVic said:
this is not something I see apple really doing well in. They might have a better time with some sort of mountable 2nd screen or 3rd party head unit that can be installed.

but if Apple wants to be able to sell this as a built in headunit for a car, they're going to have to allow it to communicate with all platforms, including Android and WinPho8.

People purchasing cars that are dozens fo thousands of dollars aren't going to be happy to then be stuck with a "smart" headunit that can only talk to iOS devices.

I know when I bought a car a couple years ago, which i spent a good chunk of my income on. If you told me the only way to get most of the functionality out of the headunit was getting an iPhone, I would have likely walked out of the dealership.

This is why it's going to be a car option. Not standard.

Popeye206 · Jan 28, 2014

pnoyblazed said:
am I the only one here that has zero interest in this?

Looks like.

I look hope Apple does do something here I don't like any of the in-car screen systems I've seen give me an old fashion dial over the junk that's there now. Someone could really improve car and navigation controls and I hope it's Apple.

the8thark · Jan 28, 2014

SusanK said:
If Apple ever stops talking about innovation and starts innovating

Two words.

Jon Ive.

iOS in the Car Development Plagued by Organizational Issues

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