Audi AG, an Android partner, too has joined the league of posh cars brands to have given their consent to the deployment of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s CarPlay systems in addition to Google’s offering. Earlier this year, Open Automotive Alliance was launched in support with Google and among the premium car manufacturers; Audi was the only manufacturer as a founding member. At the Google I/O, recently, more and more support was generated for Android Auto by them.
More details on CarPlay expected later
Audi is the last among all the big names such as Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota to join the iPhone maker’s technology. Apple and Silicon Valley based Audi development lab are already discussing the prospects of CarPlay integration.
Audi AG Board Member for Technical Development at AUDI AG Ulrich Hackenberg notes: “We are separating the vehicle-related functions from the infotainment features, thereby securing the data against unauthorized access. The customer has to give express consent for the use of data generated in the vehicle.”
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is expected to introduce the new iPhone 6 on the September 19th and also the new version of its operating system iOS 8 and it is expected that at the very same time it will announce deals with most of the premier car manufacturing brands. The details about Beats and CarPlay are expected to be revealed at that time only.
Google ahead of Apple
While the systems from both tech firms will be available in the later part of year in the market, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) is way ahead of Apple in striking deals with the automotives for supporting them.
Talking of the vehicle integration, both Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) have the very same motive and plan, but there can be very substantial difference in the amount and type of data they would require people to share with them before they could gain access to their systems. Google is sure to use the data in every possible manner for its benefits of which advertising is one.
Exploiting the connected opportunities will not be possible for any platform without securing some level of permission from the users. Also, Committing completely to a single mobile platform is not considered feasible for any automotive manufacturer.
