As automakers seek new features and options to muster a greater consumer base, a new battlefield has emerged in the tech wars: your dashboard. With the advent of “infotainment,” the tech industry’s latest jargon to describe the audio cluster, various car companies have partnered with Google, Apple, Microsoft, and others to develop the most user-friendly and comprehensive systems. As of this week, Apple released CarPlay, its rebranding of iOS in the Car, for a select group of automakers that includes Mercedes-Benz.
The system will allow drivers to link their iPhone 5, 5s and 5c to the car’s infotainment system. In this manner, people can actively use the music, navigation, and messaging of their phone with merely a spoken command or touch. Apple’s patented Siri can respond to queries and requests when drivers press-and-hold the voice control button located on the steering wheel. It essentially mirrors standard use of an iPhone. Everything about the system is grounded in easy accessibility and management.
Apple provided news media materials to help clarify: “CarPlay takes the things you want to do with your iPhone while driving and puts them right on your car’s built-in display. You can get directions, make calls, send and receive messages and listen to music, all in a way that allows you to stay focused on the road. Just plug in your phone and go.”
These new infotainment systems address some of the unsafe practices, such as texting while driving, by affording drivers the opportunity to still utilize the technology in a manner that mitigates danger and risk.
Mercedes-Benz has worked diligently to remain at the forefront of these advancements. The German automaker always considers consumer safety to be a top priority, so CarPlay serves as another extension of these efforts. Despite the great anticipation of the new infotainment system, Apple has yet to issue a release date for its installation. All we can do is wait it out.
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