Apple is reportedly launching its first in-car operating system that will be used by carmakers Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo. This new system will start the innovation of smart cars on the road.
Financial Times reported that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company will officially launch its first in-car operating system at the 84th International Geneva Motor. It is collaborating with Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo to dominate the smart cars manufacturing scene.
This is Apple debut on integrating software to non-Apple devices. Rumors about the Apple smart car first came out when it was allegedly considering a bid for electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors, although the report was about the two making a device that can predict heart attack. The launch of the iOS 7 also signaled the new technology by enabling the OS to be built in the car.
Eddy Cue, Apple's head of Internet software and services, made the collaboration possible when he joined the Ferrari board in 2002. He said at the time, as quoted by FT, that he had "personally dreamed of owning a Ferrari since I was 8 years old and have been lucky to be an owner for the past 5 years."
An Apple-powered car enables its driver to use Apple Maps for navigation, watch films and listen to music. He can also make calls and use Siri to read and reply to his messages.
With the battle over control of car dashboards getting more intense, technology companies like Microsoft and IBM are more aggressive to develop the software systems that will run the cars of the future. On the other hand, Google has been working out plans on manufacturing its own cars.
These smart cars connected to the Internet and incorporated with personal communication devices will be the pioneers of automobiles that can drive themselves.
Rupert Stadler, chairman of Audi, announced at January's Consumer Electronics Forum, the technology industry's annual symposium, that this is a new era of "connected cars" that would see automobiles become "the largest social mobile devices we own."
Sources say that some manufacturers are expected to incorporate it into 2014 car models but Apple and the carmakers refused to comment.
Apple's "iOS in the Car" platform was first seen at a developer conference last year, which mirrors the iPhone on the dashboard display.
