33 comments

  • Luke MurphyLuke Murphy, over 9 years ago

    Anybody else think this is a bit meh? I mean, it will make things slightly easier in the car, but a lot of the functionality is already present in higher end cars today. Also, does this tie those cars into one phone OS?

    6 points
    • Pierre de MillyPierre de Milly, over 9 years ago (edited over 9 years ago )

      If you look at carmakers ads these days, they focus a lot on inboard touchscreens but I always find the UI to be very lacking (too many buttons, distracting water effects, etc.) so I welcome iOS there.

      Still, you're right to say that, it doesn't bring much feature-wise, apart from an incentive for app-makers to develop apps for cars.

      2 points
      • Luke MurphyLuke Murphy, over 9 years ago

        It feels a little like Apple TV for the car, which is not the way I would like to see Apple going. It's the restricted app store that's my biggest gripe. Why not just open up the app store to the world, with some tight restrictions on the app submission process to make sure no shit gets in the store. I don't know, I just feel this is a half-thought out idea...

        0 points
        • Pierre de MillyPierre de Milly, over 9 years ago

          Well, one strength of the App Store is there's only a handful of configurations for your app to run on: the iPhones, the iPads and now, the compatible cars' touchscreens. This makes it easier for third-party developers to create beautiful and well-crafted apps than it is on, say, Android.

          0 points
          • Luke MurphyLuke Murphy, over 9 years ago

            Oh definitely, but what I'm talking about is that it looks like it'll be similar to Apple TV (no app store submission, only partner apps), not the iOS model :) That would be sad if it's the case.

            0 points
      • Luke MurphyLuke Murphy, over 9 years ago

        (but yes, completely agree that the current UIs are awful. I have a '08 CRV and the interface is one of the clunkiest, most un-intuitive UIs I have ever seen)

        1 point
  • Tyson SoelbergTyson Soelberg, over 9 years ago

    Overwhelmingly unimaginative.

    5 points
  • Evan PEvan P, over 9 years ago

    Great, so now I will have to choose which future car to buy based on which phone OS it supports.

    Between Microsoft Sync, this, and the Google + Auto manufacturer partnerships, it seems like we are headed for a deluge of "modern" and "groundbreaking" in-dash systems that still fail to solve the problem of driver distraction.

    3 points
  • Luke ChesserLuke Chesser, over 9 years ago

    Feels very 'meh'. It just feels like another half-product that they have to maintain. I wonder how much work it took/how much work it will take to maintain.

    3 points
  • Mike BulajewskiMike Bulajewski, over 9 years ago

    After getting the chance to use the in-dash system of an Audi A8 last year, there’s a big opportunity for Apple to dominate this space.

    I've had some problems with Siri in the past, but nothing compares to the comically bad voice recognition in the A8. The UI was undecipherable, even after an hour of struggling with it. The biggest problem is that the system doesn't talk back to you, it requires you to constantly look at the screen and touch to confirm most actions. The UI is complex and not easy to read at a glance, making this interaction so dangerous that I'd never use it on the road. It's unsafe to use while driving, so it offers no advantages over a smartphone and is still harder to use.

    The ‘meh’ reactions are typical responses to Apple product launches—the same thing was said about the iPod and the iPhone. This perspective misses the fact that most in-dash systems, even in $80k luxury cars, are non-functional high tech ornaments that only excel at looking good on the showroom floor.

    2 points
  • Martijn Otter, over 9 years ago

    I think this is a great concept. But personally I think such systems in cars are a bit dangerous. There are a loooooot of people who will be distracted from the road, which can be pretty dangerous IMO.

    2 points
    • Christoph OChristoph O, over 9 years ago

      I see a lot of people using the smart phones while driving. While they shouldn't, of course, I think it's just impossible to keep people from doing so. By giving them a voice-based system, we might get a good balance between giving people what they want while keeping as much focus as possible on driving.

      Recently, somebody told me a story about an accident they had. The other drive bumped into them because they were "making a salad" and didn't pay attention for a second. There will always be those people :)

      3 points
  • Brandon JacobyBrandon Jacoby, over 9 years ago

    I'm kind glad they changed the name. I always found "iOS In the Car" to be a bit ambiguous. That said, I'm not sure if I'm a fan of the name CarPlay either haha.

    2 points
  • Jared KrauseJared Krause, over 9 years ago

    Two "Home" buttons. Why?!

    1 point
  • Jake Lazaroff, over 9 years ago

    It looks cool, but really I think something like this is a much better paradigm for user interfaces in cars: https://news.layervault.com/stories/15401-a-new-car-ui-how-touch-screen-controls-in-cars-should-really-work

    1 point
  • Gonçalo MoraisGonçalo Morais, over 9 years ago

    I think this is still very early to show mockups... They look terrible, considering the quality Apple usually provides.

    1 point
  • Jonathan LevyJonathan Levy, over 9 years ago (edited over 9 years ago )

    Not sure that the "UI" angle is the right one to value/appreciate this kind of product, think of what design or experience possibilities this is bringing to the market. Simple combo, Carplay + Beacons it opens a lot for car-renting/sharing.

    0 points
  • Thani SuchoknandThani Suchoknand, over 9 years ago

    I'm surprised Tesla isn't on that list.

    0 points
  • Robbert EsserRobbert Esser, over 9 years ago

    I'm really excited about this!

    0 points
  • Ernest Ojeh, over 9 years ago

    Not so sure about that "Music" view.. The "Now Playing" text seems off..

    0 points
  • Jim SilvermanJim Silverman, over 9 years ago

    Apple is going to have to be very careful about what apps they allow to be compatible. i can just picture someone trying to play candy crush while driving.

    0 points
  • Hawke BassignaniHawke Bassignani, over 9 years ago

    Their design team held back the usual Apple product page parallax-and-scroll capture pattern, which is great.

    The background has a slight parallax effect (I had to look for it to see it), but not as extreme as the now-cliché animate-photo-under-text… thing.

    0 points
  • Kyle MitchellKyle Mitchell, over 9 years ago

    Happy to see this happening. This is a part of design that I never see it done right.

    0 points