Apple to Unveil ‘iOS in the Car’ Integration Next Week

Lets just hope they don't use Apple Maps t get to the car shows or they might lose the prototypes as they get told to make turns off of bridges or instructions to drive onto airport runways as 747s come in for landings.
 
Any car with this system in it will never be bought by me... Rather drive a Lada...
 
I'm no Apple fanboi, but iOS has to be light years better than anything that the major vehicle manufacturers have come up with themselves for infotainment. And cmon, manufacturer GPS systems tend to be absolutely horrific, and if its just integrating an iPad into the dash somewhere, no reason you couldn't download google maps or whatever millions apps floats your boat.

Heck, all they have to do to make it a hit is build a dock for an iPad, and create an app that can integrate into the cars OBD2 system and what not, and simply disable most features while the iPad is docked and the vehicle is in motion (so people aren't trying to watch movies while driving Lindsey Lohan style).
 
Honestly I don't use iPhones but if it takes apple to push what should have been standard 5 years ago then I will take it. I am royally sick of car makers trying to sell you some $2000 upgrade for GPS. I don't want your GPS I just want your display to show what my phone can already do. I and most people upgrade our phones faster than our cars.

Car makers wont upgrade your car GPS / connectivity / entertainment system enough because they are morons and they think you will buy a whole new freaking car to get an upgrade. So simple new features come in and they won't even give them to you.

Car electronics need to go through the same revolution that phones did. For decades the cell providers controlled everything. They tried to force you to buy apps directly from them and they did a crap job updating them or making them universal. They purposely tried to make them not work with other carriers. Car makers do the same crap with everything in a car. Eventually apple became so successful with the iPod that one carrier ATT cracked and let them do what others could not do. And then it forced the carriers to open up the same abilities to other companies like google. So if apple is the only company with enough clout to get car makers to make car software something that just interfaces with your phone. Good deal. Maybe after another 3 years or so we will finally break free of that horrible upselling technique and a simple large 8+ inch display will just piggy back off your phone for everything except the car controls.
 
rudy said:
Honestly I don't use iPhones but if it takes apple to push what should have been standard 5 years ago then I will take it.
Click to expand...

Apple? Standard?

No thanks, I wouldn't want to trade one limited locked down system for a different locked down system, especially with Apple's habit of not fixing security holes.
 
rudy said:
Honestly I don't use iPhones but if it takes apple to push what should have been standard 5 years ago then I will take it. I am royally sick of car makers trying to sell you some $2000 upgrade for GPS. I don't want your GPS I just want your display to show what my phone can already do. I and most people upgrade our phones faster than our cars.

Car makers wont upgrade your car GPS / connectivity / entertainment system enough because they are morons and they think you will buy a whole new freaking car to get an upgrade. So simple new features come in and they won't even give them to you.

Car electronics need to go through the same revolution that phones did. For decades the cell providers controlled everything. They tried to force you to buy apps directly from them and they did a crap job updating them or making them universal. They purposely tried to make them not work with other carriers. Car makers do the same crap with everything in a car. Eventually apple became so successful with the iPod that one carrier ATT cracked and let them do what others could not do. And then it forced the carriers to open up the same abilities to other companies like google. So if apple is the only company with enough clout to get car makers to make car software something that just interfaces with your phone. Good deal. Maybe after another 3 years or so we will finally break free of that horrible upselling technique and a simple large 8+ inch display will just piggy back off your phone for everything except the car controls.
Click to expand...

Seriously, why are we still buying $40k vehicles with non-capacitive touch screens? Why do we have a settings where we can only turn up or down a volume? Why do we have interfaces that are sooooo fucking slow to respond to your input you could just look it up on your phone faster?
 
nutzo said:
Apple? Standard?

No thanks, I wouldn't want to trade one limited locked down system for a different locked down system, especially with Apple's habit of not fixing security holes.
Click to expand...

It's a freaking car radio...are you a nutzo or something??? :rolleyes:
 
Ducman69 said:
I'm no Apple fanboi, but iOS has to be light years better than anything that the major vehicle manufacturers have come up with themselves for infotainment. And cmon, manufacturer GPS systems tend to be absolutely horrific, and if its just integrating an iPad into the dash somewhere, no reason you couldn't download google maps or whatever millions apps floats your boat.

Heck, all they have to do to make it a hit is build a dock for an iPad, and create an app that can integrate into the cars OBD2 system and what not, and simply disable most features while the iPad is docked and the vehicle is in motion (so people aren't trying to watch movies while driving Lindsey Lohan style).
Click to expand...
Microsoft BoB is lightyears ahead, it isn't paculiar to Apple.

As for integrating into OBD2, nobody wants that legal headache considering you can do some risky stuff like seize up your transmission while traveling at 80 mph. Regardless they are requiring firewalls around vehicle controls in the future. Good luck cutting through that with a free app.
 
MrPatate said:
Any car with this system in it will never be bought by me... Rather drive a Lada...
Click to expand...
I guarantee many car makers don't understand the attachment of some of their customers have to their phones. That some people put far more time and energy into their phones willingly than they want to put into their cars, ever.
 
jpm100 said:
As for integrating into OBD2, nobody wants that legal headache considering you can do some risky stuff like seize up your transmission while traveling at 80 mph.
Click to expand...
LOL, no. There are already a plethora of options for connecting to your OBD2 on your tablet, and all they do is read information from it.... It just allows you to tap into a lot of information that can be displayed in a useful manner on a big screen, and reading diagnostic codes is just one of the options:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ikwIQfkV98

They have various skins so you could configure it to your liking:
188474d1342989071-app-radio-dashcommand-gopoint-bluetooth-obdii-img_1336.jpg
 
Ducman69 said:
LOL, no. There are already a plethora of options for connecting to your OBD2 on your tablet, and all they do is read information from it.... It just allows you to tap into a lot of information that can be displayed in a useful manner on a big screen, and reading diagnostic codes is just one of the options:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ikwIQfkV98

They have various skins so you could configure it to your liking:
188474d1342989071-app-radio-dashcommand-gopoint-bluetooth-obdii-img_1336.jpg
Click to expand...

Wasn't being facetious about the firewall thing.
 
This is fine and dandy; I have no problem with it--I'd like something for Android (finally--I've been looking for a decent android car console, but still, none exists and I'd rather not frankenstein my own tablet into my car). But it's just mirroring your phone's display--as the source says, there's no multitasking, text entry is done via voice in Siri, and only a subset of apps will be compatible (at launch, of course). I'd much rather have a dedicated tablet-like device in my dash, where all I need to do is some sort of data-tether to my phone. Of course, so many wireless carriers frown on data tethering (and it's also a power hog). But I don't see this as the Apple-esque 'integrated' solution that they're well known for. It looks and sounds more like a clunky 3rd party solution.
 
nutzo said:
Apple? Standard?

No thanks, I wouldn't want to trade one limited locked down system for a different locked down system, especially with Apple's habit of not fixing security holes.
Click to expand...

I see today is "Let's Make Stuff Up" Day.
 
Ducman69 said:
Again, what does that have to do with reading information? I'm not sure you're grasping the difference between write and read.
Click to expand...
Seriously? The easiest way to have a secure firewall is to block in and out. Unless you have the specs or regs which say they plan otherwise, easy is cheaper, cheaper wins.
 
teh_chem said:
This is fine and dandy; I have no problem with it--I'd like something for Android (finally--I've been looking for a decent android car console, but still, none exists and I'd rather not frankenstein my own tablet into my car). But it's just mirroring your phone's display--as the source says, there's no multitasking, text entry is done via voice in Siri, and only a subset of apps will be compatible (at launch, of course). I'd much rather have a dedicated tablet-like device in my dash, where all I need to do is some sort of data-tether to my phone. Of course, so many wireless carriers frown on data tethering (and it's also a power hog). But I don't see this as the Apple-esque 'integrated' solution that they're well known for. It looks and sounds more like a clunky 3rd party solution.
Click to expand...

Try Torque: http://torque-bhp.com/
Here's a Playstore link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque&hl=en
Its got a bit of a learning curve to it, but it reads everything and delivers data in real time (like fluid temps, MAF CFM and sensor voltage and readings).
It supports profiles for different vehicles, you can change the background, it graphs data from trips, has a map, keeps track of your speed difference between gps and ODB, you can make different sized, type and transparency of gauges.
There's a 0-60 and quarter mile timer via gps and can show your gas mileage and fuel consumption.
It also reads ODBII codes and links to the Mitchell database to let you know what is causing the errors.
Really, its the single most impressive piece of automotive software I've ever used, and since dad was a mechanic, there was quite a few of them.
 
SGA76 said:
Try Torque: http://torque-bhp.com/
Here's a Playstore link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque&hl=en
Its got a bit of a learning curve to it, but it reads everything and delivers data in real time (like fluid temps, MAF CFM and sensor voltage and readings).
It supports profiles for different vehicles, you can change the background, it graphs data from trips, has a map, keeps track of your speed difference between gps and ODB, you can make different sized, type and transparency of gauges.
There's a 0-60 and quarter mile timer via gps and can show your gas mileage and fuel consumption.
It also reads ODBII codes and links to the Mitchell database to let you know what is causing the errors.
Really, its the single most impressive piece of automotive software I've ever used, and since dad was a mechanic, there was quite a few of them.
Click to expand...

I don't care about obd2 sensor readout. I'm talking about an android based car console. Navigation, entertainment, software/services. I couldn't care less about seeing the real time output of my car's maf sensor or tach.
 
Trimlock said:
Seriously, why are we still buying $40k vehicles with non-capacitive touch screens? Why do we have a settings where we can only turn up or down a volume? Why do we have interfaces that are sooooo fucking slow to respond to your input you could just look it up on your phone faster?
Click to expand...

Automotive requirements are much more difficult than consumer requirements.

Specific point is capacitive touch screens. This technology does not like to work in high temperature environment, such as inside your car on a hot sunny day when the car is off. Such is why cars still use resistive touch.
 
Xrave said:
Automotive requirements are much more difficult than consumer requirements.

Specific point is capacitive touch screens. This technology does not like to work in high temperature environment, such as inside your car on a hot sunny day when the car is off. Such is why cars still use resistive touch.
Click to expand...

I don't believe the slightly higher temp of your car will ruin a capacitive touch screen anymore then the resistive touch panels. Point being that there are people installing tablets in their cars that maintain their use long after installation, or the car manufacturers that are just now starting to implement them into the dash.

If anything it was a clear price cutting point these manufacturers have been implementing. In phoenix we upgraded to our touch panels outside (110+ degrees) a few years ago to capacitive touch and they are maintaining full function, also the older resistive touch panels were completely faded, when ever we replaced the panels we had to put cloth over it to prevent the fading.
 
Xrave said:
Automotive requirements are much more difficult than consumer requirements.

Specific point is capacitive touch screens. This technology does not like to work in high temperature environment, such as inside your car on a hot sunny day when the car is off. Such is why cars still use resistive touch.
Click to expand...
I've had a tablet mounted in my car in Texas heat, it hasn't been an issue. It isn't running when the car is sitting empty baking in the sun, but any temperature I can tolerate as a human during use in the car is fine with the tablet as far as I can tell. I do have it mounted so its not under the sunlight though.
 
Terpfen said:
I see today is "Let's Make Stuff Up" Day.
Click to expand...

Because Apple's products are so expandable/open.

My current car's radio can connect to my Android phone, and iPhone and even a Blackberry. It also has a USB port that supports a thumb drive, which is where I prefer to store my music.

Do you really think an IOS based system will fully support anything other than an iPhone/iPod and iTunes?
 
nutzo said:
My current car's radio can connect to my Android phone, and iPhone and even a Blackberry. It also has a USB port that supports a thumb drive, which is where I prefer to store my music.
Click to expand...
It doesn't REALLY support those, it just supports very limited bluetooth functionality, I'm sure. Something universal that I'm sure a manufacturer would insist worked too on any Apple solution they were given. And USB support for a thumbdrive is again such insanely simple functionality, I don't see how that could be omitted.

Android has like 65% marketshare or something last I checked, so I wouldn't be worried at all.

In any case, this can't be worse than the proprietary hugely overpriced BS they put in cars now. Its absolutely pathetic that you can get in a $50K Mercedes and feel like you're using an infotainment/GPS system thats 10 years old tech.
 
Hate to say I told you so, but Apple announced its CarPlay initiative today, and it not only doesn't supportt Android, it doesn't even support any iPhone older than the 5.

"CarPlay allows you to access your music, email messages, texts, calendar and contacts information all while using Siri voice commands (a dedicated Siri steering wheel button is required for CarPlay certification). In order for users to be able to interface with CarPlay, they will need a Lightning cable and an iPhone 5 or newer smartphone from Apple. And of course, you’ll need a compatible vehicle. Manufacturers that are currently onboard for 2014 include Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo."

This is the type of "Feature" that would cause me to look for a different car, as I'm sure any manufacture who would fall for integrate this into thier cars, would likely do a poor job with other phones.
 
I think we can all agree that iOS has an attractive interface, and the functionality of real apps vs what the manufacturers throw in is obviously superior. I flush mounted a Nexus 7 in my car a couple of years ago and after having owned several fully loaded cars with factory nav options. The Nexus obviously blows them out of the water except in one area, reliability. When it works, it works well. But when it fails, it fails hard. It's rooted with a custom room and thus requires some attention to app updates and rom updates. I had to do a lot of tweaking of my own to get it just perfect, and even then sometimes it will do something silly like deactivate the screen while still streaming music. I would never trade it for a traditional factory nav though.

Google's failure to see this opportunity and let Apple run away with it is absurd, especially coming from Google since they pride themselves on tech foresight. Anyway if you have seen the Tesla dash, thats what Apple is pushing for. I dont think anybody knocks on Tesla's cabin design so you can quit the fanboi crap and recognize that iOS in the car will be awesome. Nobody is going to buy an Audi over a BWM just to avoid an Apple branded product and get stuck with something vastly inferior. There is no comparison between iOS and whatever Nissan or GM develops for their vehicles right now.
 
I'd love to see this.... pretty much all the current options suck really hard. I just hope that it's not all OEM and that you'll be able to integrate this into older cars/stereos via 3rd party.

I've been kicking around the idea of doing an Android tablet (or possibly an iPad mini) custom install in my Focus for an infotainment system for some time now, but I like things to work/look factory and that's just not really possible with those options since you'll never (easily at least) get complete integration with the cars current stereo/steering wheel controls & other vehicle integrated functions. You either have to completely replace it or deal with a lot of headaches & caveats.... or go with a custom Car-PC which has it's own set of drawbacks.

I honestly couldn't care less about it being 'closed source'.
 
nutzo said:
Because Apple's products are so expandable/open.

My current car's radio can connect to my Android phone, and iPhone and even a Blackberry. It also has a USB port that supports a thumb drive, which is where I prefer to store my music.

Do you really think an IOS based system will fully support anything other than an iPhone/iPod and iTunes?
Click to expand...

Yes, when you say that Apple has a habit of not fixing security holes, you are making things up.
 
McFry said:
Google's failure to see this opportunity and let Apple run away with it is absurd, especially coming from Google since they pride themselves on tech foresight.
Click to expand...
I think they are practicing foresight; they've been developing their self-navigating cars for a long time. Having to adapt android for a niche application (as much as I'd love a dependable version of Android in my car, since I already use it for my phones and tablets), is a distraction. Not to mention the regulatory hurtles associated with integrating software into an automotive environment...
 
Trimlock said:
Seriously, why are we still buying $40k vehicles with non-capacitive touch screens? Why do we have a settings where we can only turn up or down a volume? Why do we have interfaces that are sooooo fucking slow to respond to your input you could just look it up on your phone faster?
Click to expand...

We are we making cars with touchscreens at all? The point of a car is to get you from Point A to Point B. "Entertainment" can wait until a time when you are not supposed to be focusing on driving.

The touchscreens add needless complexity; I have yet to see a car with an actually usable interface and the amount of steps required to do simple things like change a radio station are absurd. Plain old fashioned knobs and buttons simply work better and the tactile feedback allows you to operate them without having to look at the screen.
 
MrPatate said:
Any car with this system in it will never be bought by me... Rather drive a Lada...
Click to expand...

Enjoy that Lada there, I'll be enjoying my future luxury automobile. :cool:

This could go both ways, really great, or horribly bad...we'll see.
 
I prefer a bigass screen, and as long as the buttons are sized appropriately, I'll take a bigger screen over a small screen and physical buttons. IMO a 10.1" standard tablet size is fine, preferably a docked one IMO that you can only undock with the key in the ignition for anti-theft.
nutzo said:
"CarPlay allows you to access your music, email messages, texts, calendar and contacts information all while using Siri voice commands (a dedicated Siri steering wheel button is required for CarPlay certification). In order for users to be able to interface with CarPlay, they will need a Lightning cable and an iPhone 5 or newer smartphone from Apple. And of course, you’ll need a compatible vehicle. Manufacturers that are currently onboard for 2014 include Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo."

This is the type of "Feature" that would cause me to look for a different car, as I'm sure any manufacture who would fall for integrate this into thier cars, would likely do a poor job with other phones.
Click to expand...
Technically though, that doesn't mean that it doesn't support the same limited bluetooth functionality with other devices as are already standard in cars hands-free systems already, but to use CarPlay specifically for all the fancy features you would need a i-Device.
 
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