iOS 11's CarPlay has gained a multitude of new Maps capabilities for safer driving while bringing slight design changes to some of the stock apps and subtle interface refinements such as notification badges, cellular signal bars replacing the dots, larger app icons and more.
Tesla is building its massive Gigafactory in order to reduce the production cost for their electric vehicle battery by thirty percent and now Apple is rumored to be secretly working on automotive battery research and development though no specific details were provided.
According to a report Thursday by Shanghai-based news outlet Yicai Global, Apple partnered with Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) on the project.
The publication speculates that the move could indicate that Apple’s car project involves not only autonomous driving software but also hardware. The two companies are working together on “a scheme”, based on a confidentiality agreement, in the field of batteries.
“If Apple is working with CATL on a battery, the possibility that Apple will continue to make cars cannot be ruled out as one of the core components of self-driving electric cars is the battery,” CCID Consulting’s New Energy Director Wu Hui told the outlet.
Another, less likely explanation could be that Apple may be planning to sell batteries of its own to makers of electric vehicles, or directly to consumers to power their homes. Because no specific details were provided, we can even speculate that these batteries could be used in Apple's data center, stores and other corporate facilities.
Here's drone flyover of Tesla's Gigafactory site, courtesy of Duncan Sinfield.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkbA2FnQSpk
Founded in 2011, CATL is a spinoff of Amperex Technology Limited.
In 2012, a report claimed that Apple dropped Samsung and switched to Amperex for iPad and MacBook batteries. However, Amperex is nowhere to be found on the February 2017 list of Apple suppliers, and neither is its parent company.
Amperex produced a replacement battery for Samsung's ill-fated Note 7, but it too was plagued by a manufacturing issue that could cause it to catch fire due to the welding defect.
Rendering: Tesla's Gigafactory 1 outside Sparks, Nevada.
Gene Munster, a longtime Apple analyst who had been calling for an HD TV set from Apple for years before eventually giving up on that pipe dream, said today that the upcoming release of Tesla's Model 3 sedan would be as big a launch as the 2007 introduction of the original iPhone.
In a blog post on the Loup Ventures website, Munster writes that the combination of the Model 3’s value and technology has the potential to change the world and accelerate the adoption of electric and autonomous vehicles in the next decade.
“We believe we will eventually look back at the launch of the Model 3 and compare it to the iPhone, which proved to be the catalyst for the shift to mobile computing,” he wrote.
The launch of the vehicle is viewed as Tesla's make or break moment because Model 3 is the company's first truly mass-market electric car priced at the sweet spot of $35,000 before federal and state tax incentives.
According to Elon Musk, Tesla is poised to ship about thirty units of the Model 3 sedans on July 28 and ramp up production to 20,000 Model 3 units per month by December of this year.
Chart via Bloomberg
Imagining that Tesla could produce an estimated 2.5 million cars by 2025 may seem hard to believe given it only delivered about 100,000 cars in the past year. But as Munster says, car hardware does not scale as easy as software, but it can scale.
“Looking back at the iPhone in 2007 it was a stretch to envision the company producing 50 million phones a year, but in 2015, the company sold 232 million units,” he wrote. Owning a Model 3 is only thirteen percent more expensive than owning a Toyota Camry over a five-year period, estimated the analyst.
It's important to note that this figure assumes no state or federal tax credits for electric vehicles as the analyst expect those incentives to end before December 2020.
Loup Ventures is a VC fund focused on augmented reality, artificial intelligence and robotics which Munster founded following his exit from investment firm Piper Jaffray in December of last year, putting an end to Munster's 21-year career as Piper's senior Apple analyst.
The car audio and navigation systems company Alpine today announced that its first aftermarket CarPlay wireless receiver, dubbed iLX-107, is now available for purchase in the United States, priced a bit on the high side at $900 a pop.
“The award-winning iLX-107 wireless Apple CarPlay system offers even more convenience in accessing Maps, Phone, Messages and Music from the iPhone in-vehicle without ever needing to connect a cable,” the company notes.
The unit packs a seven-inch VGA revolution capacitive touchscreen in a mech-less body. It integrates with rear view camera systems and your car's steering wheel controls.
The conveniently located Volume, Track, Home and Siri hard keys are accessible for quick access and simple control.
Alpine was one of the first firms to offer aftermarket CarPlay receivers for owners of older vehicles than lack CarPlay integration. However, today's new is significant as the iLX-107 represents their first aftermarket CarPlay receiver that supports wireless connections.
This lets you use CarPlay with your iLX-107 without needing to connect an iPhone via a USB cable. To set it up, you just pair your wireless Apple CarPlay unit from your iPhone. Of course, wired connectivity via the standard Lightning cable is supported, too.
Connecting an iPhone to your iLX-107 via a Lightning cable for the first time automatically sets up wireless connectivity, which is great. The accessory uses the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band to optimize wireless connectivity performance, Alpine has said.
While Alpine does not sell the new receiver directly, you can purchase it from a network of authorized dealers who won't just sell you the accessory but install it for you as well.
Check out Alpine's store locator online tool to find a dealer nearest to your location.
Wireless CarPlay requires iOS 8.3 or later.
A real important step for safety in the car was just introduced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference that's currently underway in San Jose: Do Not Disturb mode while driving. Apple's proactive assistant on iOS 11 determines when you're driving and offers to automatically turn on DND mode via CarPlay.
With DND active while driving, CarPlay won't be showing any notifications, similar to DND mode on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. And if someone message you while DND mode is active on CarPlay, the Messages app on your iPhone will auto-respond with a message on your behalf telling the sender that you're currently driving and will be getting back to them soon.
Like with DND on iOS, DND for CarPlay allows you to cherry-pick contacts whose messages will get through while you're driving in DND mode. The Messages app on iOS 11 will permit users to respond with a simple “reply” message if they'd like their muted message delivered to CarPlay, as long as they're on your whitelist.
Those and other CarPlay improvements will launch for everyone when iOS 11 releases for public consumption this fall.
Google is placing its Android operating system right inside cars, showing off on Monday an Android version of touchscreen car consoles and infotainment systems.
According to Bloomberg, Google Assistant is at the heart of the new Android system which hosts popular apps such as Spotify and Google Maps with 3D mapping and satellite images (for safety reasons, they're keeping YouTube off the screen).
Patrick Brady, Google's Vice President of Android Engineering, said the system will make its way to Audi and Volvo's entire fleets, along with other manufacturers.
“Where cars are going, everything is integrated into one display,” he said. “We think the future is a much more seamless, integrated system.”
From the Bloomberg article:
This version of the software had three main windows for users: a central panel for playing music, making calls and navigating; another with a grid of core car functions; and a third that lists installed Android apps. A button on the steering wheel and a voice command can activate the Google Assistant.
Android for the car might eventually extend to dashboard items like speedometers and backseat screens. Google will permit each Android software car partner to customize the controls, interface and apps preloaded into the operating system.
And with smart home integration, a user in a compatible car could ask the Assistant to, say, turn on the lights at home before arriving. Brady added that Apple's CarPlay could run on top of cars with the embedded Android system.
As it's said to take over the underlying software on the car, the forthcoming software will be able to control car features like seat positioning and temperature.
According to the company:
That means your car’s built-in infotainment system could allow you to control your air conditioning, sunroof, and windows, find the nearest restaurant with Google Maps, listen to Spotify or NPR, or just ask your Google Assistant for help—even when you leave your phone behind.
Google showed a concept of the software running on a Chrysler vehicle earlier this year.
The search giant is reportedly partnering with Audi and Volvo to ship car systems running the Android operating system. Because Google's new software is embedded right in the car software, a driver won't need to plug in an Android phone to run it.
And with built-in Google Assistant, drivers will be able to accomplish tasks like searching on the go, asking for directions and making phone calls. Google is showing off the new software today, ahead of its annual developers conference scheduled to run from May 17 through May 19, 2017 in Shoreline Amphitheatre Mountain View in California.
At I/O 2017, the search monster will show off live demonstrationss of the new Android operating system running on the Audi A8 and Volvo V90 SUVs. Apple is expected to update us on CarPlay advancements at WWDC 2017 next month.
CarPlay supports wired and wireless connections and requires an iPhone.
That's because unlike Google's new software, CarPlay is not embedded directly into the underlying car software. Apple is thought to be working on an autonomous driving software, too.
Google's in-car Android solution shouldn't be confused with Android Auto, a CarPlay-like system introduced in 2014 that lets people project content from their Android smartphones to their car's screen. Google said it's working on bringing the voice assistant to Android Auto.
Android Auto now runs on 300 car models.
According to the Bloomberg report, Amazon has reached agreements with carmakers for its own digital assistant. That said, the in-car software battle between Apple, Google and Amazon is only going to intensify going forward.
Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chixung has successfully raised more than $5.5 billion from investors to bankroll an expansion beyond China and into driver-less technology.
Bloomberg reported Friday that Didi, which counts Apple as one of its backers, disclosed the latest round of financing in an emailed statement.
Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is near an agreement to raise $5 billion to $6 billion for automated driving expansion, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The financing round will lift Didi’s valuation to a cool $50 billion, up from a previous $34 billion after its acquisition of Uber’s China business. It would make the Beijing-based company the country's top startup by market valuation, even surpassing handset maker Xiaomi, and the most valuable startup in the world after Uber.
Apple has hired several expets from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), including three engineers who worked at the space organization's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. They, along with other engineers, have been tasked with working on Apple's rumored augmented reality projects and self-driving software initiatives.
According to the latest articles from Bloomberg, Dow Jones Newswire and Business Insider, a rare bureaucratic mistake has revealed Apple’s secret team of NASA veterans and experts holding PhDs in robotics and other related fields. They were apparently recruited for Project Titan, Apple's self-driving car project, and augmented reality, another not-so-secret Apple initiative.
Apple was added to the list of 29 other companies, including Tesla, Google, Ford and Mercedes, that are testing or planning to test self-driving vehicles in the state of California, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles's (DMV) website Friday.
The permit allows Apple to test vehicles in autonomous mode on public roads.
It's unclear if Apple sought to obtain a permit because it wanted to test-drive its own autonomous vehicles or if the company was simply looking to experiment with the rumored autonomous driving features in a future CarPlay version.
Musa Tariq, Apple's executive, is leaving the company to join Ford, the car maker said Tuesday.
Tariq was Apple’s global marketing and communications director for retail for a little more than two years. At Ford, he will be Vice President and Chief Brand Officer, a new position created as the company focuses on new mobility services.
Lisa Jackson, Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, is listed as one of the 25 members who joined the United States Department of Transportation's (DOT) new Automation Committee. This means that the iPhone maker will play an active role in overseeing self-driving vehicles and helping determine the future of transportation.
Prior to joining Apple in 2013 to lead environmental initiatives, Lisa Jackson served as Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
According to DOT's press release Thursday, the new advisory committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting on January 16 to immediately begin work on “some of the most pressing and relevant matters facing transportation today,” including the development and deployment of automated vehicles.