Apple has announced CarPlay, an in-car infotainment system that lets you connect your iOS device with your car.
The new system — actually a rebranding of Apple's "iOS in the Car" — will be shown at the Geneva Motor Show, held from Mar. 6 to 16, 2014.
CarPlay will let iPhone users make calls, access messages, listen to music or use Maps in their cars using Siri-based voice control, touch controls, or standard knobs, dials and buttons in the car. Third party apps such as Spotify, Beats Radio, Stitcher and iHeartRadio are also supported.
For this launch, Apple has partnered with Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. Later on, the CarPlay system will also be embraced by an impressive roster of car manufacturers: BMW Group, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai Motor Company, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia Motors, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan Motor Company, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota Motor Corp.
CarPlay will become available as an update to iOS 7 on lightning-enabled iPhones, which currently means the iPhone 5, iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. We'll see the first cars supporting CarPlay on the road sometime in 2014.
Image: Apple