CarPlay

Google Play Music users can now access the app through Apple's CarPlay, with a new update quietly adding it to the short list of third-party services. The new version of Google's music app joins Amazon, Spotify, and a select few others with CarPlay support, with a much simplified interface promising to be easier and safer to access while on the move. You will, of course, need a CarPlay-compatible vehicle in order to actually use it, mind.

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This week Apple's CEO Tim Cook confirmed that the company was "focusing on autonomous systems" for vehicles. Speaking with Bloomberg Television, Cook suggested that autonomous cars are "a core technology that we view as very important," going on to suggest that it is "probably one of the most difficult AI projects to work on." This is the most plain and public statement Apple has made on autonomous car tech yet.

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Ford is rolling out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to its earlier SYNC 3 cars, with a hotly-anticipated update for its model year 2016 vehicles. SYNC 3 version 2.2 will be available both via a dealer-installed update and via a DIY method, with owners able to load the new software onto a USB stick themselves. However, for the first time, Ford will also offer an over-the-air update as a third option, part of its shift to bring some smartphone-style thinking to its infotainment platforms.

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Not everyone needs a hi-tech, and expensive, "smart" car, but almost no one will deny the entertainment and navigation benefits that come with our smartphones. For some car owners, especially those with older models, an upgrade just isn't possible. Thankfully, Pioneer has a new batch of NEX in-dash DIN multimedia receivers that can give any car, even older ones, a taste of the future.

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iPhone owners can now listen to music from the Amazon Music app using Apple’s CarPlay, Amazon has announced. The music becomes accessible after connecting the iPhone to a vehicle with CarPlay, as users will be able to select the Amazon Music app as one of the supported audio choices. This joins the support for Android Auto, which similarly allows Android users to access the music on their vehicle’s touchscreen.

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Ask Cadillac drivers the one thing they wish the luxury car company would update, and you'll probably hear "the CUE infotainment system" most often. CUE, the touchscreen multimedia and navigation software found in cars like the CT6 and XT5, certainly wasn't lacking in ambition, but neither has it been called the most user-friendly system. Now, that's all set to change with a brand new version.

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If Apple is truly working on a car, as all the rumors suggest, then CarPlay is the visible tip of that iceberg. While I appreciated Apple's aim of distilling the familiar essentials from your iPhone in a way that was both safe and convenient while you're driving, it's taken me some time to appreciate what the fairly barebones interface has to offer. Still, it's more of a Stockholm syndrome relationship than I'd care to admit: I'm warming to CarPlay primarily because most in-car systems are so bad.

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Apple finds itself the subject of a road safety lawsuit, facing demands to lock down the iPhone to prevent drivers from texting or other distractions while on the road. The case, Julio Ceja v. Apple Inc., was filed this week in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, and accuses the Cupertino firm of putting "profit before consumer safety" by continuing to allow the potentially dangerous practice. If it won't change iOS, the lawyers say, Apple should be made to cease sales of the iPhone in California altogether.

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Alpine, the aftermarket car accessories maker, has taken to CES 2017 to announce its first in-dash receiver/infotainment system with wireless support for Apple's CarPlay. Dubbed the iLX-107, the unit features a 7-inch touchscreen, but more importantly it will allow iPhone users to connect their device over WiFi instead of a Lightning cable.

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Back in August we first talked about the Sony XAV-AX100 car audio system. The big features of the device is that it brings both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to vehicles that didn't come with that capability from the factory. When the AX100 was first announced it was set to launch in late November. It is available now via Amazon.com for $499.99.

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Support for Apple CarPlay is booming right now with Apple having unveiled via the CarPlay website that 50 new automobiles now have, or will have CarPlay support. That brings the total number of vehicles supporting CarPlay to over 200. The 50 new rides include a number of coming 2017 model vehicles.

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US driving safety regulators are pushing for a strict limit on what smartphone tech can be used in the car, recommending phones go into lockdown when plugged into the dashboard. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has published its first set of guidelines on driver distraction for portable and aftermarket devices, effectively outlining its goals for cutting down on unsafe smartphone use while at the wheel. Though not a law, it's nonetheless a strict set of suggestions for how platforms like iOS and Android should behave, including limitations on apps and features that may leave drivers frustrated.

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