In the future, Apple CarPlay could be used to control almost all the features in a car
Apple has decided it would be best if it extends CarPlay features to the point where iPhones can be used to control almost all of a car’s essential functions.
Known to Apple insiders as ‘IronHeart’ the initiative which is still in its early stages would effectively enable the Californian tech firm’s mobile phones to access and control various functions in a car.
According to people in the know, the iPhone-based system could access a range of controls, sensors, and settings including settings for adjusting sound, temperature, seats and armrests, speedometer, tachometer and even the fuel gauge.
This feature would theoretically negate the need to switch between a car’s system and CarPlay while managing key controls of a vehicle.
Apple, by gaining access to a car’s systems, could turn CarPlay into an interface that controls nearly the entire vehicle. The Cupertino-based firm may also use the data gathered from the project to create new applications and add features to existing functions.
However, implementing it would require the cooperation of automakers who might not be keen on handing over control of key features to Apple.
If and when it is introduced, IronHeart would be the second biggest push from Apple into car technology since it launched CarPlay in 2014.
What’s more, with its electric car having faced setbacks, the tech giant could apply the learnings from the expansion of Apple CarPlay features into building its autonomous EV.
Launching such a feature would also result in a more important outcome and that is keeping the iPhone entrenched in the daily lives of Apple’s customers and effectively eliminating the possibility of them purchasing its rival’s handsets.
