[Draper]

Apple unveiled iOS 16 today, which features revamped CarPlay with deeper integration for vehicle systems.

BMW wasn't explicitly listed as a partner for this, but I wonder if we'll see them take advantage of this via a software update for iDrive 8 in the future.

Apple today at WWDC 2022 announced the "next generation" of CarPlay, which will support multiple displays within a vehicle, offer built-in climate controls for adjusting the temperature of the A/C or heat within the CarPlay interface, and more.

The next-generation CarPlay experience will be able to provide content across multiple screens within a vehicle, and deeper integration with a vehicle's hardware will allow users to control the radio, adjust climate controls, and more directly within CarPlay. Apple said the new version of CarPlay will also seamlessly display a vehicle's speedometer, fuel level, temperature, and more on the instrument cluster.

Apple added that CarPlay users will be able to personalize their driving experience by choosing different gauge cluster designs, and widgets will provide at-a-glance information from the Weather and Music apps right on a vehicle's dashboard.

Apple said the first vehicles to support the new CarPlay experience will be announced later this year, with committed automakers including Ford, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, Honda, Acura, Jaguar, Land Rover, Audi, Nissan, Volvo, Porsche, and more. Apple said it will share more information about the new CarPlay experience in the future.

Introduced in 2014, CarPlay is Apple's in-vehicle software platform that can be accessed through a vehicle's infotainment system when an iPhone is connected to the vehicle with a Lightning cable or wirelessly in vehicles that support wireless CarPlay.

https://www.macrumors.com/2022/06/06...splay-carplay/

[tom @ eas]

Video

['Cane]

Talked about in this thread as well, last page.

M3 Face-lift ID8 vs Pre- ID7 Poll https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1924760

[DocWeatherington]

Probably not... Bmw along with all the other major manufactures use their own software. How could they control OTA and internal software updates using apple?

I think the current software suite from Google and Apple will be as good as it gets as the new trend is subscription based software.

Why Telsa doesn't do apple or android at all.

[Draper]

Originally Posted by DocWeatherington

Probably not... Bmw along with all the other major manufactures use their own software. How could they control OTA and internal software updates using apple?

But is this because they want to, or because there was no other option?

It's going to be hard to out-do Apple from a software design and usability standpoint, so if some manufactures do start to adopt this systemwide for their vehicles its going to make everything else look second class.

I mean, just look at what Apple rolled out today and compare it to what we've seen of iDrive 8 so far. It's not even close.

[Art__Vandelay]

I have not followed Apple's announcements closely and do not know the details (I'm not an Apple user). In general, I am always in favour of progress and technical developments always fascinate me.

But what I find a pity is that the cars differ less and less. With the rise of electric motorisation, manufacturers are less and less able to distinguish themselves through their engines. This is probably also happening now with the infotainment systems resp. OS, since companies like Apple naturally have an interest in their system being used (by all manufacturers, if possible).

[mikeyymonster]

I was thinking about this as well, full screen Apple Carplay on Idrive 8 would look pretty awesome.

[MassComp]

Originally Posted by Draper

But is this because they want to, or because there was no other option?

It's going to be hard to out-do Apple from a software design and usability standpoint, so if some manufactures do start to adopt this systemwide for their vehicles its going to make everything else look second class.

Instead of spending millions attempting to reinvent the wheel sort of say when it comes to software of this type, manufacturers have already realized it's a fools errand to compete with Apple and Google.

This battle for was lost years ago by the major car manufactures when it comes to NAV for instance. I don't even bother with the Porsche NAV in my Macan, which requires a paid subscription for live traffic, along with yearly map updates which usually come at a cost as well. And why should I when I can use far superior NAV from the likes of Waze and Google on my wireless Apple CarPlay....for free....

[DocWeatherington]

Originally Posted by Draper

But is this because they want to, or because there was no other option?

It's going to be hard to out-do Apple from a software design and usability standpoint, so if some manufactures do start to adopt this systemwide for their vehicles its going to make everything else look second class.

I mean, just look at what Apple rolled out today and compare it to what we've seen of iDrive 8 so far. It's not even close.

I think its because its software that bmw wants and works across the platform. Remember, everything is interconnect and everything is software based. To think that manufacturers are going to drop there stuff an use apple...not going to happen.. MB EQS hyperscreem not going to work for that...


Your also comparing a tech company that makes computers to car manufacturers..not even a fruit to fruit comparison.

I think ID8 will improve just as every previous version has with OTA and whatever updates they think customers need and with whatever subscription they decide to charge. ID9 is probably a few years away. Bmw made car entertainment what it is today thinking back to the OG idrive.

I don't think a lot of manufacturing companies will want to hold hands and skip with Apple as it probably has to be interconnected in sub systems an they don't want apple to see everything and or have to deal with Apple to make sure there cars work. I see makers taking a snipt of what apple offers just for the basic carplay - locking stuff out once it gets to close to core data.

If apple ever decides to make an EV they just have data from millions of cars as how is your dash/safety systems/ climate going to work without apple integration into your core CPU electronics.

The bigger question is I doubt this will be free unlike the standard carplay... Everyone wants subscription based features as its a never-ending income stream.

As systems get better makers will skip it as they will just have waze or google maps as an app.

[Draper]

Originally Posted by DocWeatherington

I don't think a lot of manufacturing companies will want to hold hands and skip with Apple as it probably has to be interconnected in sub systems an they don't want apple to see everything and or have to deal with Apple to make sure there cars work. I see makers taking a snipt of what apple offers just for the basic carplay - locking stuff out once it gets to close to core data.

I think many manufactures are going to more open to this than you think. The integration is still going to be driven by them, but there will be a great set of tools from Apple which they would be able to take advantage of.

Remember in years past each cell phone carrier used to roll their own custom software for each phone (custom branding, apps, services, etc...). This is no longer a thing, and I doubt anyone really misses it.

[DocWeatherington]

Originally Posted by Draper

I think many manufactures are going to more open to this than you think. The integration is still going to be driven by them, but there will be a great set of tools from Apple which they would be able to take advantage of.

Remember in years past each cell phone carrier used to roll their own custom software for each phone (custom branding, apps, services, etc...). This is no longer a thing, and I doubt anyone really misses it.

Time will tell..but either way makers will continue to improve software interfaces and we as customers will win in the end. Granted some updates won't be liked but what can we do beyond don't buy the product.

[NightWriter]

Originally Posted by Draper

Remember in years past each cell phone carrier used to roll their own custom software for each phone (custom branding, apps, services, etc...). This is no longer a thing, and I doubt anyone really misses it.

Maybe carriers don't create their own UI's anymore, but manufacturers certainly do. Here's some of the most popular Android skins, for example.

Originally Posted by Draper

Apple unveiled iOS 16 today, which features revamped CarPlay with deeper integration for vehicle systems.
BMW wasn't explicitly listed as a partner for this, but I wonder if we'll see them take advantage of this via a software update for iDrive 8 in the future.

This announcement was certainly interesting, and I look forward to seeing how it evolves. Apple has clearly done their homework and partnered with a number of manufacturers in this effort, rather than just inventing software and expecting them to come begging for the integration.

That said, it puts manufacturers (like BMW) in a tough spot. Apple (and Google) are far better at software development and UX design than auto manufacturers, and the tight integration with user's mobile devices offers a compelling argument for customers that they have a hard time competing with as well. However:

a) Roughly half your customers are going to have an Android device. So that means you have to partner with Google as well, and now you have to be the intermediary and find some common ground between them with respect to API access to the underlying subsystems, and UI features and capabilities so the experience is not wildly different depending on whose phone is connected.

b) ... or sometimes a user may not have any phone, which means manufacturers will need to continue to develop their own digital dashboards, even if they're used rarely.

c) Manufacturers must ensure that these new dashboards are stable and meet all laws and regulations in the markets they serve, and test them thoroughly (and likely incorporate some backup systems in case of errors or failures).

So although these capabilities make for a great demo by Apple, they introduce a lot of additional cost and complexity for manufacturers.

[MarineRaider]

For years we have heard Apple is working on a car...what we now must believe it is more like they are working on Car OS to license and sell to manufacturers.

I think certain companies will buy CP lite, Porsche, Mercedes, Audi and BMW amongst them as they have devoted considerable resources for their own branding and feel. If you compare Porsche to BMW on the ability to customize or even have access to your cars look and feel ( think BimmerCode) it is like comparing Fort Knox to a 7/11. I just do not believe they will adopt this.

On the other-hand if you are KIA, GM or Ford this saves you a LOT of money on development and offers a premium universal appeal at a fraction of the cost.

This does not roll out till the end of 2023 and it will be limited, this was almost like some pie-in-the-sky thing...not sure what the final product will look like but rest assured, it won't be this as AR, Autonomous driving etc etc is just getting started.

[NightWriter]

Originally Posted by MarineRaider

For years we have heard Apple is working on a car...what we now must believe it is more like they are working on Car OS to license and sell to manufacturers.

Interesting take. In the early days of the 20th century, some (wealthy) clientele were not content with the standard cars produced by manufacturers, so they commissioned coach builders to take an Arrow, Lincoln, or Duesenberg chassis and build a custom motor coach around it. In other words, it let manufacturers focus on the mechanical and drivetrain components, and let coach builders -- who had far more experience and flexibility with building feature-rich interiors -- focus on the customer touch-points.

I see a lot of parallels starting to align here with this announcement. From the other end of the spectrum, the industry's rapidly shifting focus to EV's means manufacturers will increasingly focus less on ICE development, which is more complex and expensive than EV technology. It makes you wonder how/where manufacturers will stand out from one another?

['Cane]

Originally Posted by MarineRaider

For years we have heard Apple is working on a car...what we now must believe it is more like they are working on Car OS to license and sell to manufacturers.

I think certain companies will buy CP lite, Porsche, Mercedes, Audi and BMW amongst them as they have devoted considerable resources for their own branding and feel. If you compare Porsche to BMW on the ability to customize or even have access to your cars look and feel ( think BimmerCode) it is like comparing Fort Knox to a 7/11. I just do not believe they will adopt this.

On the other-hand if you are KIA, GM or Ford this saves you a LOT of money on development and offers a premium universal appeal at a fraction of the cost.

This does not roll out till the end of 2023 and it will be limited, this was almost like some pie-in-the-sky thing...not sure what the final product will look like but rest assured, it won't be this as AR, Autonomous driving etc etc is just getting started.

I worked for Apple for 14 years, and from 2007 until about 2013 the rumors that Apple was going to sell an actual TV were so prevalent, it used to drive me and my team crazy. I don't have any insider knowledge of an Apple car, but have always thought it would just be software.