iOS 16 and next-generation Apple CarPlay will dominate the entire dashboard.
Apple has yet to announce an electric car, but the company is committed to dominating the automotive dashboard.
On Monday, during its keynote at the 2022 World Developers Conference, Apple previewed iOS 16 for the iPhone and the next generation of Apple CarPlay. Spoiler alert Car meter clusters will be integrated with the iPhone.
The next generation of CarPlay will allow the iPhone to hijack the meter cluster by communicating in real time over a secure connection and monitoring real-time vehicle systems. According to Apple, information that can be displayed in the meter cluster includes navigation, speed, RPM, fuel level, outside temperature, etc.
Apple provided examples of different versions of gauge clusters, noting that there are a variety of designs, ranging from traditional looking round gauges to modern bar graphs. Colors, backgrounds, and dial treatments can also be changed.
Customers can add widgets to the center screen and meter cluster. According to Apple, the system can automatically adapt to different screen sizes to accommodate various car models.
Apple shared a list of automotive partners including Land Rover, Mercedes, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Nissan, Ford, Lincoln, Audi, Jaguar, Acura, Volvo, Honda, Renault, Infiniti, and Polestar. The specific car models that will be equipped with the system will be announced next year.
The iOS16 operating system also includes updates to Apple Maps, including multi-stop routing that allows up to 15 stops.
The last major update to CarPlay was two years ago with iOS 14, which featured a digital car key. This feature has yet to fully take off with CarPlay, as automakers are working to implement this feature via their own apps.
Apple took aim at Tesla and Livian by stating that 98% of cars sold in the US today have Apple CarPlay and noting that 79% of US buyers will only consider a car with CarPlay. Apple did not note where it obtained this data.