Apple CarPlay and QNX, a new approach in automotive infotainment?

Apple CarPlay seems a little bit less closed than the traditional Cupertino approach. N4bb reports a statement from Paul Leroux Public Relations Manager at QNX Software Systems in which he confirms that Apple is a QNX strategic partner in automotive.

“Connectivity to smartphones and other mobile devices is a key strength of QNX Software Systems’ platform for car infotainment systems, and many automakers and tier one automotive suppliers use our platform to implement smartphone/head-unit integration in their vehicles. We have a long-standing partnership with Apple to ensure high-quality connectivity with their devices, and this partnership extends to support for Apple CarPlay.”

As already seen yesterday, at the moment CarPlay is intended to work jointly with an iPhone or a Ipad, but such collaboration with QNX opens some interesting window on additional capability that inprinciple cannot exclude some standalone systems.

QNX has presented its approach during  Las Vegas CES last January and also some collaboration with HERE solution by Nokia.

At the moment is not clear how much integrated and in some way intrusive would be the CarPlay with QNX but for sure such interest and talk in automotive infotainment is a harbinger of big things during this year.

Yesterday we saw a demo from about Volvo solution using CarPlay, let’s see now below the Mercedes approach in which also Siri capability is shown.

Apple CarPlay unveiled at Geneva International Motor Show (updated with Volvo video and info)

As rumors said, Apple today early morning announced its iOS in the Car solution during Geneva Motor Show named CarPlay.

As already posted in this blog such solution is not yet a complete and fully integrated automotive solution but is anyway a step in such environment and for sure a big step for the marketing and echoes involving from a site Apple and on the other site Ferrari, mainly, and Mercedes and Volvo.
Apple says that “CarPlay gives iPhone users an incredibly intuitive way to make calls, use Maps, listen to music and access messages with just a word or a touch. Users can easily control CarPlay from the car’s native interface or just push-and-hold the voice control button on the steering wheel to activate Siri® without distraction. Vehicles from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo will premiere CarPlay to their drivers this week, while additional auto manufacturers bringing CarPlay to their drivers down the road include BMW Group, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai Motor Company, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia Motors, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan Motor Company, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota Motor Corp”.
I still think, anyway, that CarPlay will be a sort of mainstream solution in automotive infotainment  market because of still present involvement of external device, i.e. iPhone/iPad with iOS7 and I’m convinced that for the very high end solution the central device will be in the car and eventually could communicate with smartphones, and this seems in line with the upcoming solution from Nokia HERE and QNX,  Google with Open Automotive Alliance (OAA); solutions that still see many manufacturers also involved in CarPlay.

For sure CarPlay will help automotive and the introduction of internet-centric device in the Car exploiting  the ability of Apple to break and create new Market segments.
[Update] Volvo presented a video (see below)  illustrating the new User interface integrated in a car and in a press release claims that Apple CarPlay will be available in forthcoming Volvo models based on the new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA), starting with the all-new Volvo XC90 later in 2014.
In the same press release a statement of Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO, Volvo Car Group is reported: “iPhone users will feel completely at home in a new Volvo. We have created a wholly-integrated user experience in our large portrait-oriented touch screen that takes the in-car mobile device experience to a new level. That, coupled with the obvious driver safety benefits of an advanced voice control system like Siri, made Apple a perfect match for Volvo”

From what we can see, it seems that Volvo considers the Apple CarPlay as a very important added value to its automotive infotainment solution, that in principle could act without CarPlay.

Is it Apple iOS in the Car time for Ferrari, Mercedes and Volvo?

iOS in the Car is not a new stuff, as already highlighted some time ago, but now it seems that the announce is more concrete.

Financial Times reports rumors about a formal announcement and deal next week during Geneva Motor Show.

We’ll see if iOS in the Car will be a sort of iPhone/iPad integration with automotive, as expected -and really it doesn’t seem a big step in automotive- or something more. This will be made at the beginning, following FT, on Ferrari, Mercedes and Volvo.

Ferrari “LaFerrari” F70

Really we already saw that in such growing market there are several approaches and solution that are possible also more in depth that a connection between a mobile device and the car. The same Volvo has already a sort of collaboration with HERE solution by Nokia and it also announced some days ago a new ‘human machine interface’ with a shape tablet-like as reported by Engadget and that you can feel below.

Apple iOS in the Car Peeps on the Net, the Automotive War Games are Starting

The Tech Companies interest  in the Car World is well known and, as we saw, we can find Nokia with Here, Qualcomm with Snapdragon Automotive Solutions, BlackBerry with its Automotive QNX solution, Nvidia with its Automotive Solutions and last but not least Google-Android founding the Open Automotive Alliance.

What about Apple? Is not new on this side, and in 2013 June the Cupertino Company during the opening keynote of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) announced the iOS in the Car (iOSitC).

The development of such solution is made on iOS 7.x as explained by Apple itself claiming that “iOS in the Car seamlessly integrates your iOS device — and the iOS experience — with your in-dash system. If your vehicle is equipped with iOS in the Car, you can connect your iPhone 5 or later and interact with it using the car’s built-in display and controls or Siri Eyes Free. Now you can easily and safely make phone calls, access your music, send and receive messages, get directions, and more. It’s all designed to let iPhone focus on what you need, so you can focus on the road.” with some screenshot for some features as:

• Navigation with Maps.
• Receiving and sending messages
• Traffic conditions and ETA (Enclosed Traffic Area)
• Siri interaction.
• ITunes.

iOSitC car integration as from Apple site

Apart what above and some rumors claiming that the iOSitC is imminent no much more until now was shown, but… yesterday the developer Steven Troughton-Smith (https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith) added on his twitter account some additional screenshots as below:

Really, it is not so much respect what already present in the Apple site, but could be considered as a confirmation that the project is near to release to the customers. Until now, the Car companies interested to Apple include:

• Acura
• Audi
• Chevrolet
• Chrysler
• Ferrari
• Honda
• Holden
• Hyundai
• Infiniti
• Jaguar
• Kia
• Land Rover
• Mercedes-Benz
• Nissan
• Opel (Vauxhall)
• Volvo
• BMW
• Ford
• Toyota

The bold ones in the list above are quoted that they are planning to include the functionality from 2014 onwards as highlighted by Apple’s senior vice president (SVP) of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, At the 2013 WWDC keynote. Other as BMW initially not interested changed its position because interested in some way in introducing the standard and the the other interested to Apple proposals.

Honda already announced a deeper integration with iOS in the Car “Honda Evolves In-Car Connectivity with New Display Audio Touch-Screen Interface and Next Generation HondaLink™ Technology” highlighting that

• Advanced connected-car technology debuts in 2014 Honda Civic, followed by 2015 Fit
• Display Audio touchscreen brings smartphone-like functionality inside the vehicle
• Next gen HondaLink™ makes integrated navigation more affordable and intuitive with smartphone-powered navigation app
• 2014 Civic with Display Audio first Honda model with factory installed Siri™ Eyes Free mode from Apple

So, after the leaked screenshots shown above and the interest of Car Companies, we could expect in a very near future news from Apple about its iOSitC solution.

Anyway my personal opinion is that the decision by the Car Companies about their preferred solution probably is not yet done, or they think to use different solution among their Car portfolio.
I say this because if you see the companies that joined OAA (Open Automotive Alliance) driven by Google/Android are Audi, GM, Honda, Hyundai, that directly or through some related brands are also interested in iOSitC and also QNX automotive solution see Audi (again), Acura, BMW, Chrysler, Daewoo, GM, Hyundai, Land Rover, Porsche, Saab, Renault Samsung.

My two cents worth that while solution as the one from QNX (or similars) will see a standalone automotive infotainment solution in high end proposals, the one from Apple because requiring in some way iPhone, it will be an add-on cheaper than the first, making the funny situation that the Apple solution will be a sort of low-end feature.

BTW the games in automotive are just at their begin and in the next months we’ll see big things.

IOS in the Car at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference