Apple is taking CarPlay to an entirely new level with a huge announcement at WWDC 2022. In what it called a “sneak peek,” Apple showed off an entirely new generation of CarPlay that expands beyond infotainment and becomes the car’s entire interface, from a gauge cluster screen to the center stack and including every car function.
This announcement picks up on a huge trend in the automotive industry, as cars move away from physical switches and dedicated gauges, instead opting to use a giant screen — or multiple distinct screens — to display information.
This is also a shot across the hood of Google, which has already made the leap from the phone-tethered Android Auto interface to Android Automotive, which is a whole-car operating system. Android Automotive actually provides a good roadmap for how this could go for Apple.
Apple said that this new interface will be shown in actual vehicles with a variety of partners by the end of 2023; until then, we’re just going to be salivating over these demos.
It’s also easy to let our minds wander quickly to the long-rumored Apple car, and what this interface could tell us about the expected experience if Apple were to ever make its own.
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