Volvo’s First Apple CarPlay Offering to Use Lightning Connector, Wi-Fi Option to Follow

Connected car activity is heating up this week at the Geneva International Motor Show, with automakers and electronics companies making technology announcements in advance of 2015 model year releases.

Apple launched an embedded automotive infotainment system called CarPlay Monday that encompasses maps, music, messaging and voice, putting Apple in competition with the Google-backed Open Automotive Alliance announced at CES. CarPlay is debuting this week in vehicles from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, with more to follow, Apple said. With the CarPlay launch, Apple pushed its homegrown technologies including iTunes, Apple Maps and Siri for voice control as a way to avoid driver distraction.

Volvo said Monday that the Volvo XC90 SUV crossover vehicle will be its first model to offer a CarPlay system. Users will connect their iPhones to CarPlay via a Lightning connector initially, with Wi-Fi connectivity coming “in the near future,” Volvo said. The connection is based on a streaming H.264 video feed that returns user input from the touch screen, Volvo said. In the CarPlay environment, Siri responds to driver voice commands for an “eyes-free experience,” reading messages to drivers and enabling text or email responses or return phone calls, the companies said.

Mercedes-Benz, too, will release a CarPlay-embedded vehicle this year, it said, while making it clear the carmaker is working on multiple infotainment solutions. According to published reports Monday, Dieter Zetsche, CEO of parent company Daimler AG, said at a pre-show event that the company will also offer infotainment solutions geared to Android-based devices.

CarPlay works with Apple Maps to anticipate destinations based on recent trips via contacts, emails or texts, and provides routing instructions, traffic conditions and estimated time of arrival, Apple said. Drivers can also receive spoken turn-by-turn directions from Siri, while maps appear on a car’s built-in display. With CarPlay, drivers have access to their music, podcasts, audiobooks and iTunes Radio, which they can navigate via the car’s built-in controls or by requesting content from Siri, Apple said. CarPlay also supports a limited offering of third-party audio apps including Spotify and iHeartRadio, it said.

CarPlay will be available on Volvo models that incorporate the company’s Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) introduced late last year. SPA’s advanced electrical architecture is said to boost a car’s “intelligence level significantly,” simplifying the addition of next-generation functions and new technology in areas that change rapidly such as microprocessors, sensors and cameras, Volvo said. SPA’s domains include vehicle dynamics, safety, car body and infotainment, the company said. Other automakers committed to CarPlay “down the road” are BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota, Apple said. Apple didn’t respond to questions on timing.

Apple had announced enhanced in-car integration as part of the iOS 7 unveiling last June, saying it would bring an “Apple-designed experience into the car for the first time.” In Monday’s announcement Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president-iPhone and iOS product marketing, said CarPlay has been designed from the ground up to work around the iPhone with attention to minimizing driver distraction.