Apple's CarPlay stalls again
It looks like for the time being at least, the only way to take advantage of Apple's CarPlay -- its new system for integrating an iPhone and its navigation and music apps in the car dashboard -- will be to buy a Ferrari.
When the system was officially unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2014, a number of car makers pledged to have CarPlay up and running and ready for consumers before the end of the year.
However, as first spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple has just tweaked its CarPlay page suggesting that the system won't be ready to roll out until early 2015.
Until this week, the page stated that CarPlay would be available on models from Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes and Volvo in 2014. Now it simply states that CarPlay will be available but no date is given.
Mercedes has already said that it is having problems integrating CarPlay into its infotainment systems in a way that will also allow it to support Google's Android-based competitor, and Volvo has confirmed that although its all-new XC90 SUV supports the technology, CarPlay won't be going live on its dashboards until 2015.
So far only Ferrari has succeeded in bringing CarPlay to its vehicles' cockpits. The first models to feature the system, the four-seat FF, started being delivered to European clients at the beginning of September.
However, that was before iOS8, Apple's new operating system, was launched. According to Pioneer, there are issues with the latest version of Apple's iPhone and iPad OS and those problems are playing a role in CarPlay's delay.
The premium audio device company has signed up to supporting CarPlay in its new aftermarket in-car systems and also promised to push out a software update that would let owners of existing Pioneer units access CarPlay too. According to its Twitter feed, that update has been put on hold while bugs in iOS 8 are ironed out.
