Apple Looking to Expand CarPlay With New Integrations for AC, Seats, Instrument Cluster, and More

[diamond.g]

Yes and no.

AC or sets is hardly core car functionality. Likewise if the car were willing to give up the same info it makes available over the OBD port (things like speed, gas level, early warning indicators) Apple might be able to do interesting things with that.
There was a company, Automatic, that made a dongle that plugged into the ODB port and use that info for a variety of interesting purposes including
- allowing you to record everywhere you drove and how fuel-efficient you were
- noting if your car was starting to be less fuel efficient than usual
- warning you if you drove in various sub-optimal ways (aggressive starts or breaking)
- warning you of various "check engine" conditions

In principle Apple could do the same thing today (via an Apple dongle plugged into ODB), but it's obviously a better user experience if the car manufacturers just provide this same data to Apple via whatever connector already connects to their head unit/Car Play unit.

The real issue for the car companies is basically same as the cell companies -- they don't know how to provide a decent experience from what they have, but they can't stand the thought that someone else might generate user value from "their" data...
And they seem determined to handle this the same way as cell companies -- not by doing a better job, but being otal dicks who try to prevent anyone else from doing a better job. Hasn't worked out well for the cell companies...

Do we know where CarPlay sits in relation to the canbus? I wonder if the data is even available for the phone to see (if it can be seen via USB what is the point of the OBD2 dongle).

 

[ebika]

Do we know where CarPlay sits in relation to the canbus? I wonder if the data is even available for the phone to see (if it can be seen via USB what is the point of the OBD2 dongle).

It's not available via USB, but those bluetooth OBD2 dongles could give the data to the phone, which could then expose the data via a CarPlay-compatible app. That's only if Apple made room for that category of diagnostic data apps to show up somewhere in CarPlay (full screen launchable in CarPlay, or even better, as a widget on the home screen).

 

[827538]

I would like to see better interplay between CarPlay/Siri and the vehicle. Like being able to use Apple Maps and have the directions appear on a HUD. Or have Siri change things like the radio, heated seats, temperature etc.

 

[Fudai]

I want to see song lyrics on my car's display when playing music over CarPlay.

 

[Edsel]

Yes and no.

AC or sets is hardly core car functionality. Likewise if the car were willing to give up the same info it makes available over the OBD port (things like speed, gas level, early warning indicators) Apple might be able to do interesting things with that.
There was a company, Automatic, that made a dongle that plugged into the ODB port and use that info for a variety of interesting purposes including
- allowing you to record everywhere you drove and how fuel-efficient you were
- noting if your car was starting to be less fuel efficient than usual
- warning you if you drove in various sub-optimal ways (aggressive starts or breaking)
- warning you of various "check engine" conditions

In principle Apple could do the same thing today (via an Apple dongle plugged into ODB), but it's obviously a better user experience if the car manufacturers just provide this same data to Apple via whatever connector already connects to their head unit/Car Play unit.

The real issue for the car companies is basically same as the cell companies -- they don't know how to provide a decent experience from what they have, but they can't stand the thought that someone else might generate user value from "their" data...
And they seem determined to handle this the same way as cell companies -- not by doing a better job, but being otal dicks who try to prevent anyone else from doing a better job. Hasn't worked out well for the cell companies...

The OBD simply offers data. It is not a two-way interface for controlling any of the vehicles systems. Apple and Google want to be the software that determines how the car functions, interprets and executes driver commands and be connected to a transportation "cloud".

There are benefits and detriments to this approach of vehicle "administration". Law enforcement could remotely stop a vehicle. Vehicle could be remotely tracked. All cars have microphones now, which is perfect for espionage. Vehicle software could be remotely hackable. I'm still contemplating what could be beneficial......

 

[Todd H]

I’d be happy if they just let me change the wallpaper to something more vehicle specific. I’d love to have a nice Mustang GT wallpaper to match my vehicle.

 

[SVTmaniac]

I drive a Tesla. What’s CarPlay?

 

[0924487]

I think Apple wants to be “Windows on Wheels” 🤔.

 

[chrisbru]

You think you do, and I thought so, too.. but it’s eating the battery like c-r-a-z-y. For very short trips it’s ok. For long trips i always plug it in.

I have wireless CarPlay + wireless charging in my Pacifica. It's honestly great. Phone connects when I turn it on and I can place it on the charging spot if the trip is more than 10 minutes.

 

[MNGR]

The new Renault Megane also uses AAOS and is unskinned, so that will probably also apply to Nissan and Mitsubishi. The same goes for Volvo cars that already feature AAOS, but they're part of Geely as is Polestar. As you say, time will tell but I suspect most manufacturers will be more than happy to just forget about the infotainment system and leave it all to Google.

I believe the 2022 Lexus models will also have Android

 

[name99]

The OBD simply offers data. It is not a two-way interface for controlling any of the vehicles systems. Apple and Google want to be the software that determines how the car functions, interprets and executes driver commands and be connected to a transportation "cloud".

There are benefits and detriments to this approach of vehicle "administration". Law enforcement could remotely stop a vehicle. Vehicle could be remotely tracked. All cars have microphones now, which is perfect for espionage. Vehicle software could be remotely hackable. I'm still contemplating what could be beneficial......

You have no idea what Apple and Google “want”…

 

[libmanj]

This is all nice and good, but can Apple work to make Wireless CarPlay actually connect consistently?

 

[MacAddict1978]

Whats the point of having functions i already have on the on-board infotainment? A cool idea will be a carplay connected to obd for real-time HP, Nm, g-meter etc.

So in the deep heat of July you can say, "Hey siri, turn on the AC" and she turns the heat on.

 

[deviant]

What's latency like for genuine wireless carplay?
I bought on Amazon a dongle that provides wireless carplay and mostly it works pretty well. Maybe once a month it gets confused somehow and I have to powercycle the head unit, but mostly OK. The two main irritations are

- startup is many more seconds than it used to be because the dongle takes its sweet time booting up and, in standard cheap consumer electronics fashion, has done NOTHING to optimize the boot process. (Head unit is the same, ridiculously slow startup!)

- there's notable (bearable, but noticeable latency). One obvious place you see it is touching play/pause where the audio will continue for say a second after you hit pause. It's also slightly present (not a catastrophe, but noticeable) in nav mapping lagging very slightly behind where you are.

I'd hope that "official" wireless carplay is better in both these respects, but I don't know.

It is. It’s like wired

 

[deviant]

I love it because I use it with a MagSafe charging mount in my car. Works great. Same with any other qi charger really.

Summer=FRY

 

[Damian83]

So in the deep heat of July you can say, "Hey siri, turn on the AC" and she turns the heat on.

dont understand if you was meaning "cool" instead of "heat". anyway, moving my arm for 20cm is enough for doing the same by pressing a button

 

[supertomtom]

Summer=FRY

I live in Australia. It gets pretty hot here and I haven’t had any issues

 

[name99]

Summer=FRY

True dat! For people living in somewhere like LA or Phoenix it cannot be overstated how important this is. Having a mount that makes the phone "visible" to the sun means that it heats up, even if the car has AC, often to the point that the phone simply shuts down.

Of course everyone's situation is different. I'm sure having a case on the phone makes things a little worse. If you have your mount in an AC vent that probably helps. But it's an issue that you have to consider and is the primary reason I bought a wireless car play dongle, so the phone can stay in my pocket (and cooled enough); there was just no reasonable place to mount it on/around the dash that didn't overheat.

 

[Edsel]

You have no idea what Apple and Google “want”…

LOL

 

[el-John-o]

Will Apple still be committed to updating Car Play for a 13-year-old vehicle? How does one secure a 13-year-old vehicle processor and its old firmware/OS? I see a lot of liability issues. Will we discard vehicles as quickly as we retire seven-year-old computers?

I'm fascinated by the forthcoming EV's and their focus on real-time navigation with passenger comfort.

CarPlay doesn’t run ON the vehicle itself, in a way which would make this older hardware a problem.

That’s the whole idea BEHIND CarPlay. The hardware and software that runs your cars infotainment is on your phone. The cars infotainment acts as a display, an audio source, a GPS source (implementations often have their own GPS antenna which performs better than the one in your phone and helps save phone battery) and potentially sensors and other data.

 

[Edsel]

CarPlay doesn’t run ON the vehicle itself, in a way which would make this older hardware a problem.

That’s the whole idea BEHIND CarPlay. The hardware and software that runs your cars infotainment is on your phone. The cars infotainment acts as a display, an audio source, a GPS source (implementations often have their own GPS antenna which performs better than the one in your phone and helps save phone battery) and potentially sensors and other data.

The MacRumors article implies that Apple is seeking to go much deeper into a vehicle's control system than simple CarPlay as we know it today. More industry profit will be made in vehicular dynamics and control than in vehicle platform production. This is similar to what has happened to computer hardware v. application software revenue. More profits are found with code than with hardware.

 

[MozMan68]

The MacRumors article implies that Apple is seeking to go much deeper into a vehicle's control system than simple CarPlay as we know it today. More industry profit will be made in vehicular dynamics and control than in vehicle platform production. This is similar to what has happened to computer hardware v. application software revenue. More profits are found with code than with hardware.

I’d have to say the opposite is happening here.

Apple wants deeper integration into cars because that relationship between car features and access via CsrPlay REQUIRES an iPhone…hardware.

Apple wants to make it easier for people to interact through their phones with other items they use every day. This has been the foundation of their success.

HomeKit, AirPods, car keys and Government I.d.’s on your phone. This is all about selling more iPhones as the “key” to everything else you use.

 

[diamond.g]

I’d have to say the opposite is happening here.

Apple wants deeper integration into cars because that relationship between car features and access via CsrPlay REQUIRES an iPhone…hardware.

Apple wants to make it easier for people to interact through their phones with other items they use every day. This has been the foundation of their success.

HomeKit, AirPods, car keys and Government I.d.’s on your phone. This is all about selling more iPhones as the “key” to everything else you use.

Where is the line drawn for that integration? Should CarPlay be able to control SuperCruise settings?

 

[MozMan68]

Where is the line drawn for that integration? Should CarPlay be able to control SuperCruise settings?

Read back on my other comments about "control"...CarPlay is not intended to control anything vital. It is merely meant to integrate better with non-critical systems like environmental controls and request info as well as show it within the CarPaly system to improve user experience.

Many cars utilize a separate screen or border around CarPlay to show vehicle info. Apple simply wants to integrate that as well as allow the user to utilize Siri for SOME interface.

"Hey Siri, set the driver's side temperature to 70 degrees" wouldn't be a crazy thing to consider.

"Hey Siri, how many miles before I run out of fuel?"

"Hey Siri, what's my tire pressure?"

Basic stuff like that as well as allowing Apple integration into the gauge cluster display and/or head-up display as BMW is introducing versus being limited to one center stack screen.

 

[Roadster Lewis]

Where is the line drawn for that integration? Should CarPlay be able to control SuperCruise settings?

I would image that anything like super cruise/safety critical would be outside of the scope of CarPlay, because the iPhone would then fall under ASIL ratings, for safety critical software.