When iOS 5 was launched, Siri was the flagship feature. Now we are getting ready for iOS 7 and it looks like Apple is laying the foundations for what is being described as agressive in-car integration. Most people have in-car chargers, device holders and bluetooth connectivity and it looks like Apple wants to tap into this market with their own solutions.
Since Siri was introducted, we have seen a lot of companies within the world of automobiles step forward and promise better integration of mobile devices for drivers. This has become even more apparant with the announcement of Siri Eyes Free and with Volkswagen also teaming up with Apple to bring the so-called VW iBeetle to the market. It looks like the auot industry is now more focused than it ever has been on utilizing technology to the benefit of not only the driver but for road safety as a whole.
9to5Mac have reported that those familiar with Apple's own intentions have revealed that Apple is collaborating with the car industry to make the center consoles better integrated with iOS devices. This is not just going to be an iPhone dock but something more involved and this could see Apple's mapping system mirrored from an iOS device straight onto a car's built in display with UI elements adjusted accordingly.
The deeper integration of Siri is also thought to be based on the Eyes Free technology that is currently doing the round on a multitude of production cars. IOS 7 is going to provide the hotbed for this integrative system to manifest but we have no idea how long it will take for us to see this in reality.
It seems that Apple has been very busy over the past couple of months in posting job listings for a number of different roles pertaining to in-car stereo systems. IOS 7 which is codenamed Innsbruck, will make its debut at WWDC 2013 and it looks like it could be the next big thing to come from Apple. We will keep you posted and updated on any further developments as the launch date approaches.
