Bloomberg reports that Apple is working on new technology to access more functions of a car like climate-control system, seats, radio, speedometer, and more. The new effort is deemed as an expansion of its CarPlay service which allows motorists to control music, get directions, make and receive calls, and more.
People familiar with the matter, say that the new project is internally called “IronHeart”, the new technology would turn CarPlay into an interface to control the entire vehicle. With the cooperation of automakers, Apple’s IronHeart tech could offer motorists the capability to control the following functions of their cars:
- temperature zones, fans, and the defroster systems
- inside and outside temperature and humidity readings
- settings for adjusting surround-sound speakers, equalizers, tweeters, subwoofers, and the fade and balance
- the speedometer, tachometer, and fuel instrument clusters
- seats and armrests
Automakers may be swayed to adopt Apple’s new car technology to avoid iPhone fans
The Cupertino tech company is focusing on deeper integration into cars probably because it deems the automobile industry as a major moneymaker. With its own EV years away, Apple is working on a capability to connect iPhones “with a vehicle to handle so-called infotainment features,” in the interim.
The report adds that automakers might not adopt the new technology because, besides CarPlay, most automakers do not offer other car-related technology like CarKeys by the Cupertino tech giant.
The climate control and radio apps are only supported by a few cars. And the EV routing feature isn’t available on any vehicles that are currently shipping. The CarPlay display expansion is only supported by a few brands, such as BMW and Volkswagen, and CarKey is just on some BMWs.
Having said that, it is noted that pressure of iPhone fans would sway automakers to embrace new ‘IronHeart’ technology.
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