Apple’s new “iOS in the Car” smartphone-car radio connection due next year will work its way into half of all OEM car entertainment systems shipped globally by the end of 2018, said ABI Research.
Additionally MirrorLink, smartphone connection system that mirrors the functions of Android and other non-Apple phones onto the car radio screen (with radio control) will be in 44 percent of new OEM car systems shipped by the close of 2018.
Car makers are now faced with the challenge of making sure whatever connectivity method they choose is still viable by the end of the car’s lifespan and through “multiple generations of smartphones,” said Gareth Owen, principal analyst at ABI.
Luxury car makers will shift to embedding Internet in the car, but budget car makers, will rely more on smartphone connectivity systems noted above, said ABI.
ABI Research forecasts that shipments of OEM connected in-car radios with one or more smartphone integration technologies will grow rapidly over the next 5 years. Global shipments will reach 35.1 million units by 2018. Of these, 43.6% will be equipped with MirrorLink, 49.8% with Apple’s “iOS in the Car”, and 28.2% with other technologies by the end of 2018.
Apple’s iOS in the Car was announced in June as part of iOS 7 and should be available from 14 car makers in 2014. It shows up as an interface on a car radio screen when used with an Apple device. It allows the car radio screen to mirror the screen of the iOS device.
Under the system, directions and messages and other services can also be read aloud to you as you drive “eyes free.”. You can also get your music and maps, “eyes free.”
Car makers including Honda, Chevrolet, Volvo, Mercedes, Nissan, Ferrari, Kia, Jaguar, and others will offer the new iOS in the Car, said Apple in June.
ABI’s findings are part of its Automotive Infotainment Research Service
Source: ABI Research
