Apple CarPlay, a system that connects a car’s infotainment system to a user’s iPhone, is typically used for making calls, navigation, and listening to music. But a new report by Bloomberg claims CarPlay is about to become a lot more powerful.
According to the report, Apple is planning to team up with carmakers and expand the reach of what an iPhone can do in a vehicle, including controlling the air conditioning and adjusting the seats, as well as accessing the speedometer, temperature, and humidity sensor readings.
Apple internally calls the initiative “IronHeart,” the report claims, and the entire project is still in its early stages.
For many years, rumors claimed that Apple was building a car, but the company seems to have scaled back those plans, focusing instead on the bridge between cars and its flagship device, the iPhone.
If successful, this new system would enable Apple to essentially make CarPlay the main infotainment system for the car, as well as build new apps and functionalities for drivers. It would also be the biggest automotive initiative from Apple since the company launched CarPlay in 2014.
Bloomberg points out that it may be hard for Apple to convince car makers to hand over the reins of their infotainment systems. CarPlay is pretty popular, but carmakers were more reluctant to add some Apple features to their car, such as CarKey, which currently works only with certain BMW models.
It’s unclear when IronHeart could launch, and the report doesn’t mention any particular carmakers Apple is working with.
Google, whose CarPlay competitor is Android Auto, has done something similar in partnership with Volvo. The Swedish carmaker now equips several of its models with an Android-powered infotainment system, co-developed by Volvo and Google.
