Apple To Unveil Its 'iOS In the Car' Project Next Week 198
An anonymous reader tips news that Apple's efforts to bring iOS to cars will be shown at the Geneva Motor Show next week. 'Drivers will be able to use Apple Maps as in-car navigation, as well as listen to music and watch films. Calls can be made through the system, which will tie into the Siri voice recognition platform so that messages can be read to the driver who can respond by dictating a reply.' Apple's partners in the automotive industry will be Volvo, Ferrari, and Mercedes Benz to start. Apple first said they were working on this system at last year's WWDC.
"Apple Maps as in-car navigation" (Score:5, Funny)
Re:"Apple Maps as in-car navigation" (Score:4, Insightful)
Apple Maps is still better than the out-of-date-before-it-even-launches navigation systems in most cars these days. The ones where you might (if you are lucky) be able to get a set of 2-year-old maps as an "update" to your system if you can find a dealer willing to sell it to you and you are willing to pay the big price.
Re: (Score:2)
Do you really want to have to manage the music library in your car with iTunes though? Android + an SD card or cloud storage would be much better, and you could install whatever navigation app and home screen you liked.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah Google Navigation as an in-car GPS would be awesome.
Re: (Score:3)
Yeah Google Navigation as an in-car GPS would be awesome.
Yeah, it would reduce the number of cars on the road drastically.
Re: (Score:2)
Do you really want to have to manage the music library in your car with iTunes though?
What manage? It'll have the same music collection you have on your other devices. Automatically.
Android + an SD card or cloud storage would be much better
How is sneaker-net better? And in what way is Android cloud better than iTunes and iCloud?
You do talk a lot of shit.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Most Apple Maps issues were a side effect of an early launch.
Maybe, but as far as I can tell, they've never fixed the somewhat hilariously misplaced POIs near me. They appear to be untouched from when I first checked them back when iOS 6 was released. (Although I see that the power substation is now a Men's Wearhouse instead of a Nordstroms, so I guess something has been updated.)
The other Apple Maps issue is that they don't show the difference between "there's no traffic here" and "we don't collect data for this road" making their traffic reports entirely useless.
Co
Re:"Apple Maps as in-car navigation" (Score:4, Insightful)
Most Apple Maps issues were a side effect of an early launch.
Maybe, but as far as I can tell, they've never fixed the somewhat hilariously misplaced POIs near me. They appear to be untouched from when I first checked them back when iOS 6 was released. (Although I see that the power substation is now a Men's Wearhouse instead of a Nordstroms, so I guess something has been updated.)
The other Apple Maps issue is that they don't show the difference between "there's no traffic here" and "we don't collect data for this road" making their traffic reports entirely useless.
Combine the two, and no one I know with an iDevice bothers with Apple Maps for navigation, they stick with the Google Maps app. It's still better.
I know it borders on sacrilege to point this out but Google Maps conks out on you the moment you don't have network coverage and while it has a caching function I'll still put my trust in an old fashioned Garmin unit any time. I haven't tried the Garmin iPad app yet but if it's any good, combining it with the Garmin HUD [garmin.com] looks like it would bee too good a nerd toy to pass up.
Re: (Score:2)
I know it borders on sacrilege to point this out but Google Maps conks out on you the moment you don't have network coverage and while it has a caching function I'll still put my trust in an old fashioned Garmin unit any time.
Nexus 4 owner here. When I want to get somewhere, especially someplace in the mountains, I use my Garmin. It's a LMT model and I paid $100 for it as a refurb or last year's model or something. It has no features beyond navigation; that's what my phone is for.
With that said, my phone actually gets better GPS reception than my GPS... it just doesn't get better phone reception than my GPS gets GPS reception.
Re: (Score:2)
Combine the two, and no one I know with an iDevice bothers with Apple Maps for navigation, they stick with the Google Maps app. It's still better.
If there was no Apple Maps then there'd be no fully featured Google Maps on iOS.
Prior to Apple Maps being launched Google Maps on iOS didn't feature turn by turn navigation or a bunch of other features.
When Apple Maps was released Google then released a fully featured maps product on iOS.
So there was a few months of pain, but in the end we were better off on iOS as Apple releasing their own maps forced Google to implement the maps features they were keeping for Android.
That said, in the UK I actually prefer
Re: (Score:2)
Also, if they are really launching "iOS in the car" next week, it seems like a good time to announce an improved Apple Maps app to go with it.
Re: (Score:2)
Combine the two, and no one I know with an iDevice bothers with Apple Maps for navigation, they stick with the Google Maps app. It's still better.
Most certainly not in Germany. Actually relying on Google Maps is dangerous here. Just in a few miles distance GMaps will tell me to do U-turns and go left where it isn't allowed, and tell me to drive through buses-only roads. Not to mention not routing me through a public road that is perfectly legal and visible in Google Maps.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
The real problem is that they use TomTom data for the maps, and it is shit. It's a common problem with TomTom sat navs as well.
I think they underestimated what it would take to have a world class mapping application like Google or Nokia/Bing. Those two have search engines to gather data too, so would have picked up the VW dealer from there. Their search engines are smart enough to rank the dealer highest in the list too. Then you have their street-view cars and the fact that they use image recognition and O
Hm (Score:2)
Google didn't just ban Google Maps on iOS.
Apple wanted more features, Google wanted to have more prominent branding in return, Apple didn't want to give that.
So they chose poor user experience just not to say "oh it's google's map apps" more prominently.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Unlike Google Maps. That looks like it was caused by a liquid lunch.
Re:"Apple Maps as in-car navigation" (Score:4, Funny)
There is no way you're wrong.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:ukraine! (Score:4, Funny)
It will be if those tank drivers are using Apple Maps.
Re: (Score:3)
I don't think they have those kind of people in the Russian military.
Re: (Score:2)
Iran also claims to have no gays in their country.
Re:"Apple Maps as in-car navigation" (Score:4, Insightful)
Their usual first-mover advantage? Has Apple ever been a first-mover? Maybe the Lisa 30 years ago, and that sold horribly. Apple's last 3 successes have been taking something that mostly sucked with a tiny market and blowing it up by making something that sucked a lot less and thus expanding the market.
Re: (Score:3)
Second mover.
Confucius he say: last penguin into water get no fish, but first penguin into water get eaten by seal.
Re: (Score:2)
eBay search keywords: 2din android
Re: (Score:2)
Apple is pretty much the only company out there where the client isn't the product these days.
Oh really?
If they weren't, there would be no need for Apple Maps, instead they'd just give Google all they want.
Volve (Score:3)
I though Volve was going with Valve Steam OS for the cars.
Re: (Score:2)
Nah, too proletariat - notice the companies that Apple has targeted. Ferrari, Volvo, Mercedes. Owners who are not terribly price sensitive.
No free lunch.
Re: (Score:2)
The only auto maker you can fuck back.
bad ide (Score:2)
proprietary stuff like this in cars is a bad idea. Look at all those cars from 200x that had startacs integrated... how dated. It may seem inconceivable for apple to disappear before the end of life for the car, but apple had no problem changing their connector cable and obsoleting millions of add on devices.
There needs to be something platform agnostic.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Or one of the adapters.
Re: (Score:2)
That's what's brilliant about this. You buy a new phone and then you have to buy a new car to go with it!
Re: (Score:2)
very few used different formats for connecting to your music, though.
Re: (Score:2)
right, those work flawlessly [iphonejd.com]
Re: (Score:2)
So you're saying Apple are not allowed to improve their connectors? They had the 30 pin adaptor for at least 8 years before replacing it for something better. No other manufacturer has used the same connector for that long.
Re: (Score:2)
RCA connectors have been used for 70 years and jack connectors have been used for about 120 years. That is longer than 8 years.
The 30-pin connector wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't patented, with a lawsuit-happy Apple. I have a device with the 30-pin dock, it is useless because making something compatible with it will get you sued. How rude.
Re: (Score:2)
RCA connectors have been used for 70 years
When was the last time you saw a phone with a RCA connector?
Re: (Score:2)
jack connectors have been used for about 120 years
And are of course available on iPods and iPhones.
The 30-pin connector wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't patented, with a lawsuit-happy Apple. I have a device with the 30-pin dock, it is useless because making something compatible with it will get you sued. How rude.
Bullshit. Many manufacturers make devices with 30 pin connectors. And Apple resell many of them in the Apple Store.
Re: (Score:2)
All of these cars can speak Bluetooth now. The only thing the cable needs to do is charging.
Re: (Score:2)
very funny!
Turning a typo into a plus!
Volve? (Score:2)
Uhmmm... what? (Score:5, Insightful)
Say what?
No.... seriously... what?
Is Apple fucking insane?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It's for Atlanta snowstorm drivers.
Re: (Score:2)
I have noticed that Japanese cars allow you to watch TV while driving too. However, I would assume that in this case they mean stream films to the passenger screens for the kids to watch on long journeys, not the driver.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
So, you don't have ferries where you live?
For the millionth time on Slashdot - don't assume that because you don't have a personal use case for a technological feature that it's a bad idea.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Are you fucking stupid?
Nope. His mom had him tested.
Re: (Score:2)
Ha ha Ford just signed up with Blackberry (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Ha ha Ford just signed up with Blackberry (Score:4, Informative)
Blackberry owns QNX [wikipedia.org] - one of the oldest and most-respected real time operating systems in production. It's got a rock solid reputation for reliability and stability in embedded applications [slashdot.org]. Ford made a good choice going with them.
Re: (Score:2)
Ford having Blackberry will probably cause exactly 3 customers to pick ford
Did you completely miss that Ford is going with QNX, not Blackberry's phone OS, both properties of the not-dead-yet RIM?
QNX will survive whatever re-org comes because it's valuable - there are some robots rolling around Mars right now powered by QNX.
I'd rather see something open source, but as I understand the market, QNX's real-hardtime is still better than linux can do. There's even a solution out there which runs linux on top of
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Are the problems with MS Sync something that doesn't show up when you're test driving the car?
From what I have read, Sync sucks big time and not in any hidden way. If that is the case, why are people buying cars with such a crappy system? Would you buy the car if the windows didn't go up and down or if the engine didn't work properly?
Then again, I have wondered why people buy American cars at all- a few minutes with the consumer reports guide tells you which cars are reliable and which are not, and Americ
Re: (Score:2)
So you think, no problem I just sa
Re: (Score:2)
orly? (Score:2)
And why the hell would anyone want to do that?
Glad someone is finally getting in on this one (Score:4, Interesting)
Every in-car nav system I've looked at has terrible reviews; even the dealership told me not to sweat going for the GPS option in my new car. I've got this big fancy LCD and a fancy audio system and a cell phone, but no one to tie them together.
Re: (Score:3)
Take a look at Pioneer's AppRadio. Basically mirrors your phone's screen on its own larger LCD, complete with touch control. It isn't perfect but seems to be the best option at the moment, as long as your car has a double DIN slot to take it.
There are a few other similar options. Search for head units that have MirrorLink compatibility, it's basically the same thing only standardized.
Airplay mirroring with touch to in-dash display (Score:3)
This is what they should be doing, but I fear it will be something more idiotic than that.
They can already do Airplay mirroring now and it's hard to believe that there's not an as-of-yet unimplemented protocol extension that would allow the touch input on the remote display to be sent to the phone. About the hardest part would be making sure the in-dash display was big enough and the right aspect ratio.
It'd be the most elegant solution -- all your apps with cellular data on the in-dash screen. No cords. They'd have to suppress messaging and maybe the keyboard in any app except maps or when not moving.
But I fear it will be iOS somehow adapted to the car itself and running on its hardware with a mandatory cellular data contract to make any of it useful and the 'apps' will be limited to a half-dozen or so and we'll still just use bluetooth for music and phones.
Re: (Score:2)
I heard from Tim Cook that they plan on replacing the gas and brake pedals, with just one pedal. The context of applying pressure to this single pedal will determine whether the car speeds up or slows down.
Re: (Score:3)
Many EVs essentially work that way. In ordinary driving, releasing the accelerator engages regenerative charging, which slows the car. They do have a brake pedal too, but you only use it for emergency braking or extreme downhill slopes.
Re: (Score:3)
They can already do Airplay mirroring now and it's hard to believe that there's not an as-of-yet unimplemented protocol extension that would allow the touch input on the remote display to be sent to the phone. About the hardest part would be making sure the in-dash display was big enough and the right aspect ratio.
There is already a standard for this, MirrorLink. Several manufacturers produce compatible head units. They screen doesn't need to be the same aspect ratio as the phone because Android apps can cope with different/changing screen resolutions and aspects. iOS may have a problem though since it is designed for a number of fixed resolutions and screen sizes.
Unfortunately these systems are likely to suck. I just hope they are not iOS specific and can support Android as well, because there is no way I'd want to
Re: (Score:2)
Don't mistake what's common for what's designed in. There's very little about iOS that is resolution dependent. While applications generally make assumptions about resolution, iOS and its UI frameworks are fairly flexible. In fact, you've been able to develop iOS applications that use varying screen resolutions for years n
Glad my car uses Google instead (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm glad my car uses a combination of Google and Garmin for the GPS. On the main screen (Tesla Model S) it shows a satellite view of the map, with pinch-zoom and rotation support via the touch screen whereas next to the speedometer it shows a more traditional 3-D GPS view which I understand is supplied by Garmin (I could be wrong though). For voice recognition it uses Google's service. The next major update due out soon improves the time estimates in real-time using the live traffic information that is overlayed over the Google map. The main screen map caches data along the route (except satellite data) for when the 3G signal is lost and the other display relies entirely on in-car maps.
My car also runs Linux for the main screen using the Qt toolkit for the UI. The only complaints I have heard are that the radio doesn't handle the proprietary Apple audio files but it handles MP3, Ogg and Flac just fine (with my USB drive formatted EXT4). Now if only Waze were integrated.
Re: (Score:2)
Huh? Using maps from two different systems seems like a bad decision. What happens when they don't agree?
Also, there was a slashdot story about Apple and Tesla meeting last year. So maybe they are going to have iOS for cars on the Model X. Or maybe nothing came of the meeting...
Re: (Score:2)
I suspect the meeting with Apple may have more to do with the Gigafactory since Apple is a huge consumer of batteries. I don't see Tesla moving to iOS for the car, though they might be able to add better integration with it. They already have a very good responsive UI based on Qt and Linux and I'm sure they have a lot of processes running under Linux. It would be a big job to port from Linux to iOS and probably not worth it.
As for the maps from two different vendors I have never had a problem. I'm not sure
Apple Maps (Score:2)
"Drivers will be able to use Apple Maps as in-car navigation"
Not sure how that compares to most in-car navigation, but Apple maps is still a pile of garbage. They maps are much harder to see than googles, the POI database is terrible, the routing is unusable, at least in small-town Canada.
Be interesting to see what they come up with but I sure hope it has an App store to switch out the maps.
This needs to be standardized (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
First, they weld shut the hood. And now they lock down the navigation system...
It is only a natural progression...
Re: (Score:2)
At some point, automakers settled on a standard stereo plug for their cars, meaning you could install any aftermarket stereo into any car.
Except that they never did standardize. The closest to standardization was probably mid-90's vehicles, when you could at least count on a car maker to have 1 type of connector across all models, and that harness contained standard power and speaker connections. It was still necessary to get the other gender plug for it, and match/connect wires to the aftermarket brand harness included with your aftermarket stereo. It has only degraded from there.
Some aftermarket stereo misadventure examples:
Got a GM vehicle
Re: (Score:3)
i imagine that amongst volvo's target market (people who drive volvos and those who could afford one) the share of iPhones is much much higher. i personally am holding off on a new car purchase until the iOS car integration is expanded further.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It is notable that you don't mention the model or generation.
iPod connectors/compatibility since at least '06 (Score:4, Informative)
For my '07 S80-V8 an iPod connector and in-dash stereo integration was a factory option (which I added).
It works pretty well -- playlists, artists, etc. It's the "older" dock connector so a 30 pin iPhone complains about it and won't charge, but I just put in an old 60 GB iPod and leave it in there and run my iPhone off a ProClip holder with a lightning-30pin adapter run to a split USB/aux cable that connects to the AUX in, so I can have iPhone audio on the stereo, too. It's kind of a Rube Goldberg setup, but the cables are neat and its nice to do podcasts or Pandora if I want.
Bluetooth would be better overall (less stuff, less cords) but the bluetooth from that year isn't as nice as the iPod control is.
I wonder why Apple can't make AirPlay mirroring with touch to an in-dash display a standard. For makers, it would make it something Android could support with an additional protocol and it would eliminate the need for most of the horrible in-dash infotainment systems car makers come up with.
Re: (Score:2)
I think that you just answered your own question.
Re: (Score:2)
For my '07 S80-V8 an iPod connector and in-dash stereo integration was a factory option (which I added).
It works pretty well -- playlists, artists, etc. It's the "older" dock connector so a 30 pin iPhone complains about it and won't charge, but I just put in an old 60 GB iPod and leave it in there and run my iPhone off a ProClip holder with a lightning-30pin adapter run to a split USB/aux cable that connects to the AUX in, so I can have iPhone audio on the stereo, too. It's kind of a Rube Goldberg setup, but the cables are neat and its nice to do podcasts or Pandora if I want.
Bluetooth would be better overall (less stuff, less cords) but the bluetooth from that year isn't as nice as the iPod control is.
I wonder why Apple can't make AirPlay mirroring with touch to an in-dash display a standard. For makers, it would make it something Android could support with an additional protocol and it would eliminate the need for most of the horrible in-dash infotainment systems car makers come up with.
Apple's business philosophy has always been about total control. You will never find Apple sportingly participating in a market, even if it is to their advantage. They built their own maps system in order to compete with a completely free and very effective one(google), they are the last manufacturer of note clinging to using proprietary cables, the list goes one. Apple wouldn't want to do what you are suggesting because that means other systems could participate in the environment. They don't want that. Th
Re: (Score:2)
Apple's business philosophy has always been about total control. You will never find Apple sportingly participating in a market, even if it is to their advantage. They built their own maps system in order to compete with a completely free and very effective one(google),
Google Maps on iOS wasn't free. Was never free. Apple paid major amounts of money for it. It may have been free to you, but not to Apple.
Re: (Score:2)
Google Maps on iOS wasn't free. Was never free. Apple paid major amounts of money for it. It may have been free to you, but not to Apple.
Oh, and Apple Maps is free to them then? Before they were paying Google to deal with gathering the map data (maps, imagery, POIs) and running the servers. Costs that were shared by Google's other users, meaning that economies of scale are in play.
Now, Apple has to collect all that map data on their own, has to run their own back-end for dealing with that data, including writing their own (still hilariously broken) search over it, their own routing software, their own traffic monitoring software, and maintai
Re: (Score:2)
The only reason they didn't is because they hate Android that much.
Android is a platform to collect user data for Google and advertise to it's users. The same goes for Google Maps.
The reason Apple went to the expense of creating their own Maps app is that in renewing the contract Google were demanding Apple share user data with them. Apple wouldn't do that.
With Google you are the customer. With Apple they just want to sell you a device. They defend your privacy.
Re: (Score:2)
The only reason they didn't is because they hate Android that much.
Android is a platform to collect user data for Google and advertise to it's users. The same goes for Google Maps.
The reason Apple went to the expense of creating their own Maps app is that in renewing the contract Google were demanding Apple share user data with them. Apple wouldn't do that.
With Google you are the product. With Apple they just want to sell you a device. They defend your privacy.
Re: (Score:2)
This is also why they don't give you an option to put a cell modem in their laptops. Their solution: JUST BUY AN IPHONE. That is so convenient, WHY DON'T YOU WANT TO??
Re: (Score:2)
They built their own maps system in order to compete with a completely free and very effective one(google)
Google Maps isn't free. With Google maps the user is the product. The reason Apple did it's own maps app is that when it came time to renegotiate the Google Apps license, Google wanted Apple to pass user data on to them. Apple will not do that.
they are the last manufacturer of note clinging to using proprietary cables
Apple use standard connectors when there is one that fulfils their requirements. Otherwise they create a proprietary one that fits their needs. Apple don't let themselves be held back by old or inadequate standards.
Re: (Score:2)
For my '07 S80-V8 an iPod connector and in-dash stereo integration was a factory option (which I added).
I believe your '07 S80-V8 is running QNX. [qnx.com] The option you purchased was a module for QNX that talks to iPhones/iPods. [qnx.com] QNX/BlackBerry are partners with Apple and the reports I've read indicate that iOS for car will still be running the QNX kernel.
I wonder why Apple can't make AirPlay mirroring with touch to an in-dash display a standard. For makers, it would make it something Android could support with an additional protocol and it would eliminate the need for most of the horrible in-dash infotainment systems car makers come up with.
QNX supports Miracast and Mirrorlink so if it is enabled by the manufacturer any device with those technologies will be able to just what you are asking for. In fact QNX demoed the tech at CES 2014 [youtu.be] (Jump to 7:00)
Re: (Score:2)
This is why we need to avoid using proprietary connectors and protocols in something like a car that is expected to last at least 10 years, hopefully longer. 10 years ago the iPhone didn't even exist and iPods only charged from Firewire, not USB.
We already have device agnostic standards for all this. USB/Qi for charging, Wifi for audio/steaming/phone. MirrorLink for mirroring the device's screen on the car's screen, complete with touch control. There is BlueTooth as well but it seems to be a pain in the ars
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
As in, "Hey, lets go for a joyride!" "Sounds good, anywhere in particular?" "Nah, I've got it covered though" *pushes button* "Siri, directions to the nearest 7-11"?
Because that would be hilarious.
Re: (Score:2)
Apple doesn't get it anymore. Five years ago they were cutting edge on trends (maybe not on actual tech). Now they are a little behind. The trend isn't looking good.
What trend are they behind? Just curious.
Re: (Score:2)
What trend are they behind? Just curious.
The trend for smart watches that only nerds without any taste and stalkers could love. (See embarrassing Samsung ads).
Re: (Score:2)
Apple II was one the the first commercial, everything-included-and-assembled micro-computers. Maybe Commodore PET came before.. no idea, they were probably not far off from each other at all.
Re: (Score:2)
Back in the land of reality:
Better: what trend have they ever been ahead of?
- Computers? Yep.
- Phones? Yep.
- Tablets? Yep.
- Media convergence? Yep.
- Navigation? Nope.
Yet their revenue is insane. So it must be something other than timeliness.
In part it's because you are blind to their excellence.
Re: (Score:2)
as long as you don't want to get anywhere
Re: (Score:2)
The iCar won't have any windows.
By default, but one will be available by subscription at the store
Re: (Score:2)
With the cost of hardware as it is now, it would be very easy and economical to create a dockable/interchangable infotainment system for cars.
Did you learn nothing from dockable/interchangable car radios/CD players of the past? Widely stolen. The main reason you'd come back to your car to find the window broken.
Model specific, build in HiFi and sat nav systems are not there just because they look good. They also more or less kill the market for criminals.
Re: (Score:2)
None of which makes any sense. You're not very good at analogy.