A person’s mobile phone could well decide the choice of car

WILL Apple do to cars what it’s done to music players, phones and computers?

Parrot Asteroid in-car system

WILL Apple do to cars what it has done to music players, phones and computers? And can a person’s phone heavily influence their choice of motor vehicle?

While no one is saying Apple is about to build cars, the quiet debut of Apple’s CarPlay infotainment system in Australia last week may see Gen Y drivers scrutinising a car’s compatibility with their iPhone as a priority when shopping around.

Samsung phone users, too, may be tempted to snub a car that lacks Google’s upcoming competing system Android Auto — if and when it rolls out.

The introduction of CarPlay to Australia has been a low-key ­affair, as has the slow development of car systems that talk to smartphones seamlessly. But next year that could change with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto going head-to-head, along with the maturing of some manufacturers’ proprietary systems that talk to smartphones, such as Holden MyLink and Ford Sync AppLink.

In fact there’s a host of them: NissanConnect, Chrysler Uconnect, BMW iDrive and Mercedes Comand System are others. In general they aim to let you control in-car settings such as heating and airconditioning, perform navigation, hands-free calling and texting, and play personalised music playlists and podcasts.

Australian car manufacturers are yet to sell vehicles with Apple CarPlay, but last week, Pioneer Electronics began offering firmware upgrades to customers who bought any of three of its recent installable infotainment systems.

Pioneer digital brand manager Michael Broadhurst says that from December, Pioneer radio systems will ship with CarPlay installed. Carmakers are expected to start shipping CarPlay compatible audio systems next year. Apple’s list of 29 partners for CarPlay include Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW Group, Citroen, Ford, Peugeot, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz.

Plug your iPhone into the car’s USB cable, and re-imaged versions of some of your apps appear on the CarPlay screen. The number available will depend on ­developers tweaking iTunes apps to make them compatible with CarPlay.

You can make calls, send messages, listen to music and get road directions from Apple Maps. You use voice control courtesy of Apple’s Siri personal assistant voice engine, car knobs, push-buttons and the car’s touchscreen to tell the system what to do.

Prevailing law prohibits a user from handling a phone while driving, but it’s an assumption that telling your car what to do or pressing touch screen buttons on a display is any safer.

Research by the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety found that some new features may actually increase mental distraction.

The research found that the accuracy of voice recognition software significantly influenced the rate of distraction. Systems with low accuracy and reliability generated a high level of distraction. Composing text messages and emails using in-vehicle technologies was also distracting. But this hasn’t dampened enthusiasm for such systems.

Not to be outdone, Google demonstrated its rival Android Auto system as its Google-IO conference in June.

It’s early days, but already 28 manufacturers are aboard. Many are the same manufacturers partnering with CarPlay.

Android Auto includes applications such as Google Music, Maps, music apps such as iHeart Radio, Pandora Internet Radio, Spotify, Songza, Stitcher and Tune­In Radio, along with Umano, an app that lets you listen to narrated news stories as you drive. Like CarPlay, you can use your voice to issue commands.

Indeed, internet music streaming services are the big winners with their migration to the car.

Android Auto seems to be still on the drawing board. Google Australia says it has no timeframe for its implementation here.

But Android-based in-car systems are nothing new.

In 2011, Parrot, a French company renowned for its Parrot AR Drone quadcopters, released three audio systems that were ahead of its time.

Its Android-based Asteroid in-car system offered access to apps and content using a cellular network, Bluetooth and USB.

Users could select music using voice commands, perform navigation and hands-free telephony, and even watch video on the Parrot Asteroid Smart model. It’s what the newer systems aim to do. Parrot boasted its own platform of connected products running on Android.

While Apple and Google eye the car infotainment market, ­carmakers themselves are steaming ahead with their own proprietary entertainment systems while also partnering with Apple and Google.

Ford is an example. At an event in Sydney this month, it announced local availability of its Sync AppLink system, which lets users run modified iPhone and Android apps. They show as options on its built-in car menu system. The US carmaker is encouraging developers to modify their apps to work with it.

Once an app is loaded, a driver can use steering wheel mounted buttons and voice control to operate it without touching their smartphone.

In Australia, AppLink is launching with local and global mobile apps including Club Connect, which lets a user access breakdown services from Australian motoring clubs such as the NRMA and RACV.

There’s Pandora, Australian-developed personalised radio app Omny, Spotify and location sharing app Glympse.

AppLink is available on Focus ST, Fiesta ST and the Ford Kuga range, and will be added to the ­Fiesta, Focus, EcoSport, Ranger and Transit ranges next year.

Holden’s MyLink has been available for Australian Commodore models for 18 months and includes a large touch screen that acts as an information hub.

Users connect their phones using USB or Bluetooth.

MyLink lets users access compatible common apps such as Pandora and internet radio app Stitcher. It uses the Apple Siri voice engine on a connected iPhone to communicate with the driver.

A Holden spokesman says the manufacturer’s next-generation MyLink system will let people use natural language phrases “simply by telling the vehicle what to do”.

There will be no key phrases to remember and no need to look at a screen. The system has been rolled out for the 2014 Chevrolet Impala in the US.

So you’ll be simply able to tell your car to go home.