iOS 16 - CarPlay

[LCIDdreams]

No, there are existing protocols for the car to communicate directly with iOS and report data. Anything running here is going through existing connections that exist with CarPlay today. The cars themselves just have to have software integrations that meet these protocol requirements and report data correctly. Any special sauce in car hardware isn’t provided by Apple per say and the phone will remain the core mirror for everything.

Is an iPhone really going to be able to handle that degree of processing? I know they are powerful but this seems to be asking it to do an awful lot. Casting multiple high resolution screens of different sizes with different “apps” running on each simultaneously, communicating with multiple modules in the car, while also running whatever native apps on the phone in the background. Maybe I’m overthinking and none of that is a big deal for a modern iPhone.

I initially thought this was more of a soup-to-nuts integration where the manufacturer partners with Apple on the entire software UI and experience (which a lot of legacy manufacturers are not very good at) versus just an expansion of existing CarPlay.

 

[LCIDdreams]

This may accelerate the demise of physical HVAC controls

 

[DBV]

Love that Apple is doing this and looks great! Only can hope that Lucid adopts this and they should be on the list mentioned above.

 

[rbbarry]

Anyone speak to anyone at Lucid to see if they are adopting this? I wonder if they would let Apple take over the full screen...

 

[joec]

Is an iPhone really going to be able to handle that degree of processing? I know they are powerful but this seems to be asking it to do an awful lot. Casting multiple high resolution screens of different sizes with different “apps” running on each simultaneously, communicating with multiple modules in the car, while also running whatever native apps on the phone in the background. Maybe I’m overthinking and none of that is a big deal for a modern iPhone.

I initially thought this was more of a soup-to-nuts integration where the manufacturer partners with Apple on the entire software UI and experience (which a lot of legacy manufacturers are not very good at) versus just an expansion of existing CarPlay.

Oh don’t worry. Have you seen what recent iPhones can do? Multiple simultaneous streams of 8k video is a heck of a lot more processor intensive than showing your speed on a screen and adjusting your temperature.

Trust me, the iPhone is overqualified for this job.

The chip in the current iPhone is more advanced than what Apple is putting in its desktop machines today. The M1 is based off of the two year old A14 from The iPhone 12.

 

[limtless]

Support end of summer?

Lucid Air Has Yet To Support CarPlay But Rumor Has It Coming The End Of Summer 2022 - Lucid Insider Blog - Lucid Air & Lucid Motors News

Believe it or not, one of the main reasons I ordered a Lucid Air and not a Tesla was because Lucid Motors says the car supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. I am not alone, a lot of EV buyers are not going with Tesla because it does not support Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto. […]

www.lucidinsider.com

 

[joec]

Support end of summer?

Lucid Air Has Yet To Support CarPlay But Rumor Has It Coming The End Of Summer 2022 - Lucid Insider Blog - Lucid Air & Lucid Motors News

Believe it or not, one of the main reasons I ordered a Lucid Air and not a Tesla was because Lucid Motors says the car supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. I am not alone, a lot of EV buyers are not going with Tesla because it does not support Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto. […]

www.lucidinsider.com

Don’t get your hopes up for this fancy new Apple stuff this summer. That won’t launch until late next year. End of summer for the current version of CarPlay in the Air would be most welcome, though.

 

[LCIDdreams]

Oh don’t worry. Have you seen what recent iPhones can do? Multiple simultaneous streams of 8k video is a heck of a lot more processor intensive than showing your speed on a screen and adjusting your temperature.

Trust me, the iPhone is overqualified for this job.

The chip in the current iPhone is more advanced than what Apple is putting in its desktop machines today. The M1 is based off of the two year old A14 from The iPhone 12.

Good to know! I still have an iPhone 10 but will probably upgrade this fall when the latest comes out.

 

[joec]

Good to know! I still have an iPhone 10 but will probably upgrade this fall when the latest comes out.

That brings up a good point. This new CarPlay will likely require iOS 17 (which is what will be the current version by the time it gets released). Yesterday, Apple announced anything older than an iPhone 8 will not be able to run iOS 16 later this year. It's possible they will cut off even more phones for 17. Which is to say, you may need to have a newish iPhone to make this stuff work.

Newish meaning something in the last 5 years or so. Not the absolute latest. But something to keep in mind if you are the sort who keeps a phone for 6-10 years before upgrading.

 

[bws]

As a Lucid GT owner, I would love this. The software in the infotainment and instrument cluster screens of the lucid is the biggest flaw of the car. The only thing that would make it better was if there was a hardware upgrade to the Lucid to put apple silicon in the car so it did not require an iPhone

 

[HC_79]

As a Lucid GT owner, I would love this. The software in the infotainment and instrument cluster screens of the lucid is the biggest flaw of the car. The only thing that would make it better was if there was a hardware upgrade to the Lucid to put apple silicon in the car so it did not require an iPhone

I think the software has potential but it's certainly nowhere near fully baked. It seemed like it was an afterthought for Lucid and they ended up just cobbling it all together. It would be nice if they worked on this CarPlay expansion as it would then allow them to refine the cars infotainment system over time without people being frustrated with them. The only issue I see for Lucid is they may not want to utilize the new CarPlay as it could make their own ambitions on the in car infotainment redundant.

I think this is going to be the battle for all automakers. How far do they get in bed with Apple before giving up on their own infotainment because they way it stands it makes no sense for them to have a bells and whistles infotainment system if 90% of the users will just use CarPlay all the time.

 

[LCIDdreams]

I am seeing some conflicting info on exactly what the new CarPlay product will be. Stellantis seems to think it’s more similar to the Google Automotive product, that it is to the current CarPlay. Maybe they are deflecting (or simply misinformed as Apple did indicate yesterday a connected iPhone would be involved ):
“This is more of an Apple operating system for automotive applications rather than a CarPlay upgrade. We have not made any announcements regarding that system.”

Car companies haven’t figured out if they’ll let Apple CarPlay take over all the screens

Apple wouldn’t say which cars would be compatible.

www.theverge.com

 

[LCIDdreams]

I think this is going to be the battle for all automakers. How far do they get in bed with Apple before giving up on their own infotainment because they way it stands it makes no sense for them to have a bells and whistles infotainment system if 90% of the users will just use CarPlay all the time.

Interesting point. If infotainment, dials, controls are all through Apple CarPlay the distinction between brands may be watered down… buy a BMW or a Honda and the UI gives you the same (Apple) experience. In that case to what degree do the cars become more commoditized? Different brands will obviously still look, perform, and handle differently, so it’s not the same thing as Windows laptops (buy a Compaq, Dell, Gateway and the experience is essentially the same), but the quality of the digital experience seems to be becoming more and more important to car buyers.

 

[HC_79]

I am seeing some conflicting info on exactly what the new CarPlay product will be. Stellantis seems to think it’s more similar to the Google Automotive product, that it is to the current CarPlay. Maybe they are deflecting (or simply misinformed as Apple did indicate yesterday a connected iPhone would be involved ):
“This is more of an Apple operating system for automotive applications rather than a CarPlay upgrade. We have not made any announcements regarding that system.”

Car companies haven’t figured out if they’ll let Apple CarPlay take over all the screens

Apple wouldn’t say which cars would be compatible.

www.theverge.com

If any automaker goes down this path then they may as well make a bare bones infotainment system because it makes no sense to spend all that money developing software for a car that no one will use. The concept is cool but I suspect very few automakers will go "all in" unless they really just want to focus on making cars only and not constantly reworking infotainment systems.

 

[hydbob]

I think the software has potential but it's certainly nowhere near fully baked. It seemed like it was an afterthought for Lucid and they ended up just cobbling it all together. It would be nice if they worked on this CarPlay expansion as it would then allow them to refine the cars infotainment system over time without people being frustrated with them. The only issue I see for Lucid is they may not want to utilize the new CarPlay as it could make their own ambitions on the in car infotainment redundant.

I think this is going to be the battle for all automakers. How far do they get in bed with Apple before giving up on their own infotainment because they way it stands it makes no sense for them to have a bells and whistles infotainment system if 90% of the users will just use CarPlay all the time.

I really hope it doesn't go down this path because there is not a 90% share of market for cars where users are using the Apple ecosystem. For luxury brands...maybe but Android is about 75% market share worldwide...

 

[thecodingart]

Is an iPhone really going to be able to handle that degree of processing? I know they are powerful but this seems to be asking it to do an awful lot. Casting multiple high resolution screens of different sizes with different “apps” running on each simultaneously, communicating with multiple modules in the car, while also running whatever native apps on the phone in the background. Maybe I’m overthinking and none of that is a big deal for a modern iPhone.

I initially thought this was more of a soup-to-nuts integration where the manufacturer partners with Apple on the entire software UI and experience (which a lot of legacy manufacturers are not very good at) versus just an expansion of existing CarPlay.

Honestly, this type of processing is peanuts... You'd honestly be surprised on how much power is legitimately available within Apple Silicon chips. Those phones (as is) are extremely under utilized for the power they offer. They benchmark as top tier chips for a reason.

 

[thecodingart]

If any automaker goes down this path then they may as well make a bare bones infotainment system because it makes no sense to spend all that money developing software for a car that no one will use. The concept is cool but I suspect very few automakers will go "all in" unless they really just want to focus on making cars only and not constantly reworking infotainment systems.

This is CarPlay as today with more functionality/information and a much fancier UI. The phone mirrors content communicated to/from the car. Apple does not provide any form of embedded OS like software for car manufactures and will likely never do such a thing. They barely allow virtualizing macOS let alone that...

 

[Bobby]

I really hope it doesn't go down this path because there is not a 90% share of market for cars where users are using the Apple ecosystem. For luxury brands...maybe but Android is about 75% market share worldwide...

I agree with you about market share. However, Apple going down this path will only force the competition to improve their own systems. That winds up being a good thing for end-users.

 

[thecodingart]

That brings up a good point. This new CarPlay will likely require iOS 17 (which is what will be the current version by the time it gets released). Yesterday, Apple announced anything older than an iPhone 8 will not be able to run iOS 16 later this year. It's possible they will cut off even more phones for 17. Which is to say, you may need to have a newish iPhone to make this stuff work.

Newish meaning something in the last 5 years or so. Not the absolute latest. But something to keep in mind if you are the sort who keeps a phone for 6-10 years before upgrading.

The new CarPlay _is_ supposed to be part of iOS 16 as is. It will be a follow up point release though.

 

[thecodingart]

I agree with you about market share. However, Apple going down this path will only force the competition to improve their own systems. That winds up being a good thing for end-users.

Android Auto usually follows suite with these items. Android also is becoming a big player in actually becoming the OS for car HMI systems (see Lucid). They will always have their own version and most car companies will not support one without the other.