'iOS in the car' to be a reality soon; joins iOS 7 & OS X Maverick at Apple WWDC

Apple is extending its eco-system to cars; iOS is coming to Honda, Nissan, Hyundai & others.

At the 24th worldwide developer conference (WWDC), Apple took the wraps off its new OS X Maverick and the much anticipated iOS 7 for its iPhone, iPad and iPod touch range. But apart from the computers, cellular devices and music players, Apple is also looking at foraying into automobiles with its acclaimed ecosystem. A foretaste of the same came some time back in the form of the ‘Siri eyes free’ feature that many carmakers are looking at integrating into their infotainment systems. But now, Apple has announced what could be an infotainment system in itself.

Called ‘iOS in the car’, the operating system will integrate within your car’s dashboard and offer functionality like telephony, music, navigation and messaging along with the Siri feature. While ‘telephony’ allows making and receiving calls, ‘music’ will offer complete iPod integration. ‘Maps’ will make use of the controversial Apple Maps for navigation; and ‘messaging’, is self-explanatory. That pretty much covers all the basics that your car’s infotainment system offers. The interface seems pretty simple, like the new iOS 7 system that debuted at the same event. 

The powerful nature of the operating system could open the doors to an array of apps and functionalities that were unheard of so far. During the WWDC, Apple announced that over 12 carmakers have already signed up for the iOS integration. These include bigwigs like Ferrari, Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, Volvo, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai – to name a few. It will be interesting to see how the iOS integrates with the trademark systems offered by various carmakers – the iDrive, COMAND, MMI etc. to name a few.

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