Why Apple's iOS7 Matters For Car Geeks Worldwide

This evening, tech geeks the world over are cracking open the beers, firing up their iComputers and avidly watching Apple's keynote address at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

The big announcement is iOS7 along with a plethora of updates for Mac and OS X.

Why do we care here at Car Throttle? Well these days our smartphones are taking over our lives, with more and more cars implementing phone compatibility. It's not a stretch to imagine that manufacturers will move almost exclusively to phone operating systems as a way of outsourcing tech work and streamlining our lives.

Therefore any current technology could be a precursor to the tech that dictates the media, climate control and satellite navigation in your future car. In the meantime, simple apps like Google Maps provide an excellent, simple tool that can help drivers every day. We're taking a look at the announcements that affect you.

Anki Drive

This probably won't enhance your life a great deal. In fact you'll probably use it for a day then forget all about it, but Anki Drive holds interesting possibilities for the future of self-driving vehicles. Anki is Japanese for 'memorise', and what this app does is communicate with self-driving vehicles via a Bluetooth connection.

The cars navigate a printed track, as demonstrated on stage, but you can use your iPhone as a remote control and take control of the vehicles yourself. Now multiply that ad infinium and you can see soldiers wielding iPhones as unmanned tanks head into battle. Or brutal real-life racing games where drivers sit in the pit-lane controlling full size race cars. Or are we just dreaming?

New Maps for OS X Mavericks

Apple announced a new operating system for Macs, the ridiculously named OS X Mavericks. Within that is a greatly improved Map app. The coolest feature is the fact that you can sit at your Mac and work out a route, then send it directly to your iPhone, which will give you turn-by-turn directions.

Another neat little feature are info cards that appear when you click on a business, showing reviews and information about that establishment. A step in the right direction for the hugely slated Maps App then...

Update: iOS In The Car

Image via macgasm. net

Remember that bit at the start of this article? That bit where I said "It's not a stretch to imagine that manufacturers will move almost exclusively to phone operating systems as a way of outsourcing tech work and streamlining our lives"?

Well here's that in action: Apple has announced 'iOS in the Car', an app which makes it easier for drivers to sync their phone with their cars. The app will allow the car to mirror the screen on a user's iPhone, integrating the new Maps app to integrate turn by turn directions and give traffic updates along the route.

It also uses the new iTunes Radio feature to keep the music banging. How does this all work? 'iOS in the Car' takes advantage of Siri to offer voice command functionality, allowing drivers to make phonecalls, send messages and control all other functions without taking their hands from the wheel.

This is the next big step towards removing all that physical stuff from the car. In an age where weight saving in the name of economy is everything, removing all the radio and sat nav tech from the dashboard would make a big difference.