While most of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference focuses on forthcoming software, there is also some hardware to be found at WWDC — three vehicles parked inside the conference hall feature sneak previews of Apple’s CarPlay iOS technology incorporated into forthcoming vehicle models from Chevy and Ferrari. In addition, an after-market CarPlay solution kit from Pioneer was featured in a customized 1965 Ford Mustang. Apple gave USA Today a demo of the Chevy Spark EV implementation.
Apple steered its focus at this week’s Worldwide Developers Conference on the newly minted operating systems it is planning to bring out in the fall, OS X Yosemite for the Mac and iOS 8 for iPads and iPhones. But the three vehicles parked on the second floor of the Moscone Center here—a stunning Ferrari, Chevy Spark, and a jazzed up 1965 Ford Mustang—served as very visible reminders that Apple also has designs on the highway. The cars included demonstration units of CarPlay, the communications, entertainment and navigational in-car system Apple plans to make available to on select 2014 vehicles starting this summer, with after-market head-unit options from Pioneer and Alpine also in the works.
