Team-BHP - Apple's CarPlay iOS Info System

CarPlay being advertising for Apple devices, I can agree, in fact I think if Apple charges to test HU firmware CarPlay compliance testing, it will earn them some money as well.

Did anyone find if it needs to be connected by Lightning cable over can the iPhone be hooked to car over Bluetooth, so we can avoid every cable?

So it will not work on iPhone 4, nor on iPad Air :( No wonder I could not find any icon in 7.1. I just upgraded from iPad 2 to iPad Air and will not be upgrading from iPhone 4 ( to iPhone 5S probably) until iPhone 6 is out.

The fact however that it is dependent in HU compatibility means that its no joy for me anyway because the stock Kenwood/NCR HU in Maruti A-Star auto does not even have USB port :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amarendranath (Post 3452527)

The carplay is compatible with 5s, but i never saw any carplay icon on my phone. Does it appear only on connection with the vehicle? i remember seeing an youtube video with the carplay icon in the settings menu.

A very good question. I didn't know either so did some search and found that this will be enabled only when you have paired your iPhone with an eligible car infotainment system. So it actually means we should have a car that has carplay support system.

If you can get hands on a car that has declared carplay support, you would be able to see that in action. Like you, many of us are looking forward to hearing more on this from whoever has seen this in action, in person :D

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Originally Posted by abirnale (Post 3453052)

... So it actually means we should have a car that has carplay support system. ...

I anticipate this would be no different from "iPod Support" that aftermarket HU makers, and some OE HU makers, would label their HUs. This represented the ability of the HU to conduct a dialog with the Apple device (over USB and Apple connector) for Media List, Next, Previous etc. This is not the same as reading a File System over USB, e.g. a pendrive or a portable HDD.

HU makers will now start to have "CarPlay Support" label announcing the ability to inter-work with CarPlay protocol and functionality. Haven't seen one announced yet, but of course it takes 6-9 months for such things to manifest.

Quote:

Originally Posted by abirnale (Post 3453052)

If you can get hands on a car that has declared carplay support, you would be able to see that in action. Like you, many of us are looking forward to hearing more on this from whoever has seen this in action, in person :D

This Carplay looks very similar to Mirrorlink. Some models of Nokia were supporting Mirrorlink around 3 years back. It was then implemented for Android phones. HUs and phones from Sony, Panasonic which were Mirrorlink compatible were showcased in an automotive event held in Tokyo in 2012. I remember seeing some Sony HUs in India which are Mirrorlink compatible.

I don't have much idea about Carplay but some of the useful features of Mirrorlink are:

1. It's zero configuration i.e., as soon as you enter the car with your smartphone, the HU automatically detects it and allows the user to use the phone features on HU.
2. The communication between HU and the phone can be through Wifi, USB, BT (networking profile). USB is the most preferred way.
3. All the applications of the smartphone can be accessed from the HU. Basically the phone display gets mirrored on the HU.
4. It can control the users from accessing some application based on certain events from the car. For example, if the car is in motion, it won't allow the user to access the video player of the phone.
5. The map data present in the phone can be used on the HU. No need to subscribe to a separate map application on the HU.

These are just some of the features. The Mirrorlink specification speaks about many more useful features. The features of Carplay looks exactly like Mirrorlink. I read somewhere that upcoming HUs of Tata Bolt and Zest are Mirrorlink compatible.

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Originally Posted by guyfrmblr (Post 3453317)

This Carplay looks very similar to Mirrorlink.

Yes, very much possible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DerAlte (Post 3453266)

I anticipate this would be no different from "iPod Support" that aftermarket HU makers, and some OE HU makers, would label their HUs.

Exactly!

Apple had a program called MPI - "Made for iOS". under MPI program, any manufacturer can build accessories for iOS devices that make use of Apple iOS APIs through the bluetooth/ Wifi or physical connector. iPod/ Bluetooth Handsfree/ iBeacon are all part of this. Essentially even a wireless /bluetooth based keyboard to be able to work with iOS devices need to be certified by Apple as MPI. Now its another thing that many of the generic interface protocols like BLE/ Handsfree are included in MPI so they continue to work with wide variety of accessories including bluetooth headsets and car infotainment systems.

With CarPlay though, Apple has taken a step further to allow accessing the user interface of the iOS device onto the external display - much like AirPlay but customized for automobile infotainment systems. This enables HUs to read interfaces/ applications from iOS devices onto the HU displays. Since there is a well defined protocols and interface guidelines that HU manufacturer has to abide by, the experience will be uniform and designs would be unique. For example on the Volvo HU you might have observed "iOS home" like button whereas Ferrari does not have one like that. But still use of iOS through CarPlay would be unified through usage of Siri and standard navigation buttons.

I would like to put a disclaimer here - I am yet to practically lay my hands on any of these things and a lot of this information is based on my understanding formed after "development work" on iOS apps and internet reading :D

Now Google joins the bandwagon with its Android Auto version for car infotainment systems! At Google I/O event today they announced Android Auto.

Read more hear.

Excerpts from Link -

Quote:

Today in its sprawling keynote at its I/O event, Google announced Android Auto. The version of Android will be “completely voice enabled” according to the company, and will help users navigate, communicate and listen to music in their cars. The system will be “contextually aware,” Google says, and will allow for hands-free access, an important feature of an experience that involves a driver.

Google also announced that Android Auto’s SDK, which will feature APIs for audio and messaging, will be released “soon.” Twenty-five car manufacturers have promised to build Android-Auto powered cars. That’s a large chunk of the global car ecosystem. The first cars with Android Auto will “roll off the lots” before the end of 2014, according to Google.

A big Hello to everyone!
Wanted to share some updates on Apple's CarPlay.

http://www.pioneer-carglobal.com/CarPlay/
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...X/AVIC-8000NEX

CarPlay could be here sooner than we think. Pioneer has introduced CarPlay in its car audio systems in a few countries. They integrate with your 'existing' car. I've requested them for the Indian launch date through an email. No reply yet.

AVH-X8650BT seems to be the closest model with CarPlay to AVH-X5690BT which is currently available in India. The Indian model is approximately Rs. 30,000/-

Quote:

Originally Posted by hamsa (Post 3467965)

Any updates from Pioneer?

The main problem that Carplay will have in India is its inability to utilize Google Maps for navigation. Apple Maps, being still in its infancy, is pretty much useless in India. You can't generate routes in Tier 1 cities, let alone it working in other cities.

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Originally Posted by extreme_torque (Post 3390658)

I do not think Apple is on to this. Car play means free advertising for iOS devices and will help in increasing sales of its iOS devices even further. The OEM's benefit by getting the iOS's excellent user interface free of cost and saves their own development costs. Beyond this, I think wearables are the next big thing and expect Apple to get it right if and when the get into it.

Pardon my ignorance - but doesn't it also mean that you are locked to an apple platform for the lifetime of your car? I mean, you cannot switch your mobile to another platform as well because it would ruin the seamless interface with the car HU.

So Apple benefits from both ends? Selling OEM headunits and designs to manufacturers and getting a solid customer base for phones from customers too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR (Post 3549256)

Pardon my ignorance - but doesn't it also mean that you are locked to an apple platform for the lifetime of your car.

I feel yes and no. I haven't seen it in action but I think it would be similar to Ford Sync using Microsoft Sync technique. Doesn't mean they are stuck to Microsoft - they could replace a layer of interface from the head units that communicates with Apple/ Androids of the world. An IT architect would always think about making this less dependent and future proof from such threats of getting stuck to a platform from a technical as well as business perspective. But then you never know the morons at higher level to cut the cost, might make the decision to implement a single interface layer for a specific device only!

Having worked with Ford Sync interface with a mobile app few years ago, I can tell you that although it was built using MS Sync, it worked very well with a J2ME based application as well! Of course the functions were not as exhaustive as the native apps!

I can't imagine auto manufacturers like Honda forcing their customers to use Apple devices all the time :Frustrati They must have alternative options.

Even after few months of launch of this system, we don't hear much of the adoption in the auto industry yet. With changing focus of Apple from Auto to wearable watch, I think this may be far away from mass adoption. Android may just be able to nail this sooner though! Just my loud thinking :D

Semi-stupid question here. Why do I have to buy so many accessories and systems to bring an OS into my car environment? Why cant I just stick my mobile (phone/tablet) on to dash and just be done with it? My mobile can communicate with car system using an inexpensive BT chip or by using in-built BT. This way you are not locked on to any proprietary systems other than the OS of your mobile device. I see from the link given above, the Pioneer unit is costing around $1,400. What are we gaining from this which can not be achieved using a dedicated mobile device? Please note that I have not gone through the entire thread, and there may be justification why such a system is needed. I highly doubt the corporate strategies here, as I think they are just trying to add themselves an additional revenue stream, while adding little benefits to consumers. Do we really need this, or we have been made to think that we need this?

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Originally Posted by bsdbsd (Post 3551870)

Semi-stupid question here.

I remember reading this somewhere - the fatalities while driving is due to distraction - whether talking on phone, texting, checking stuff or even in some cases talking to co-passengers. Bringing in the systems like Auto or CarPlay has some positive impact on the overall safety. Operating a cell phone to place a call/ text or type is more dangerous than operating the infotainment unit through voice instructions. And hence the handsfree operations of the phone. Now of course, the bluetooth serves purpose to great extent. But then we have the smartphones that are rarely used for phone and text but more for apps. And so the craving for use can prove fatal again. We have laws but rarely get them working. Instead why not provide things that help drivers focus on driving and also partially let them multitask with apps/ messages, maps and some social networking. This is big safety risk, but auto companies and the ones like apple/ Android are taking different route to solve this problem. Instead of keeping people away from things, they let them use it by following - "Hands on the wheel, Eyes on the road" technique.

Of course, more business, more opportunity in every problem we see is what these companies look forward to! It can certainly be debated if we really need 1500$ system or 10$ system! I try to correlate this with Android phones vs iPhone debate memes we see on other threads :uncontrol

Avinash, insightful and useful post. Thank you. Does one really think these companies are thinking about our safety (beyond a point)? Any light emitting screen inside the car cockpit is a distraction. "Eyes on the road" is next to impossible when your car dash is full apps you would want to use. I cant imagine a scene where a driver is "multi-tasking" by fiddling with the apps, talking, exchanging messages AND driving on the road (if still on the road).

My point is that why do we have to spend so much of money to achieve distracted driving, while bearing the additional stress of app deprecation, OS Compatibility and proprietary lock downs.

This thread can of course go on, but I prefer a silent and sterile cockpit. All electronic devices will be switched off unless there is a a need. Its my time and I want to be left alone. Sorry about all the digression.