Multiple reports of problems with iPhone wireless charging in BMWs do not appear specific to the iPhone 15 line-up, but may be exacerbating existing heating issues which Apple says are most acute in the latest models.
Some owners of BMW cars with wireless charging pads are reporting a range of problems, including the NFC chip used for Apple Pay being left unusable …
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BMW is working on launching an all-new Apple Watch app to view vehicle information, lock/unlock doors, control climate, view cameras, and more. Ahead of the release, BMW is asking Apple Watch users for feedback like what features they want to see and which ones are most important.
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BMW was the first car manufacturer to adopt Apple’s Car Key feature – enabling an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock your car – and has now announced an enhanced version known as Digital Key Plus.
Digital Key Plus uses the ultra-wideband tech found in the U1 chip in the iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and Apple Watch Series 6 …
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9to5Mac reported exclusively in February that Apple is developing a new ‘CarKey’ feature that will let drivers replace physical key fobs with their iPhone. The new virtual key technology was first discovered in a beta version of iOS 13.4.
New evidence in iOS 14 code obtained by 9to5Mac reveals that Apple is working with BMW to likely be the first carmaker to support the futuristic iPhone feature. 9to5Mac received this non-denial statement from BMW when asked about their involvement:
Please understand that at this point we cannot confirm your request nor give you further details. We would like to refer you to our press release.
The informative press release referenced was published in December and refers to BMW’s efforts to adopt a new smartphone and watch Digital Key standard:
BMW has been the shining example of an automaker embracing Apple CarPlay until now. The German car maker was the first (and only) brand to offer Wireless CarPlay, but BMW reportedly plans to charge an annual subscription fee for access in the future.
To be clear, that’s ludicrous — and so is BMW’s reasoning…
CarPlay has been a long time coming to BMW, but it now looks like the system is available as a $300 option across almost all models.
We saw back in May that it was on the way to the X5 and X6 M, and a month later the same option appeared for the M3 and M4, suggesting that BMW might have been reserving it for higher-end models. As of today, though, ‘Apple CarPlay Compatibility’ appears as an entertainment option across most of the range …
While recent reports have detailed talks between Apple and BMW related to Apple’s behind-the-scenes electric car project, BMW has long been one of the last major holdouts to bring Apple’s current in-dash CarPlay platform to its vehicles. That looks like it will change later this year when at least two models will get support for CarPlay.
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It’s been long rumored that Apple has been in negotiations with BMW and Daimler for its electric car project, with Apple perhaps considering using parts from either of the carmakers. Now, German news outlet Handelsblatt reports that talks between Apple, Daimler, and BMW have ended, citing “industry sources.”
Original story from Electrek.
Digital license plates are a relatively new concept that could open up the transport industry to an array of new features. Beyond the Big Brother-like properties the implementation of the technology could enable, like location tracking or alerts for expired registrations, it could also greatly facilitate fleet management and transfer of ownership – things that are crucial for the future of mobility to embrace autonomous driving and ride-sharing.
We learned that among Apple’s hundreds of recent hires with automotive experience, the company hired a veteran software engineer with an expertise in fleet management software and especially digital license plates.
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GoMentum Station
Apple’s self-driving electric car, codenamed Project Titan, is moving ahead more quickly than originally believed according to a new report from The Guardian. The site claims that documents it has obtained regarding the project indicate that Apple is currently seeking out a secure location to test its vehicle. This development follows our reporting earlier this year profiling numerous auto industry hires Apple has working on the project.
Would you switch to Apple as a cellular provider? That’s the big question this week. Apple denied these reports, but there may be some details in this denial that lead other places. Speaking of unannounced and rumored Apple products, it looks like there’s new information on Project Titan, which could be a Cupertino-made electric car. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed.
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News first surfaced earlier this year that Apple and BMW had engaged in negotiations over the possibility of the Cupertino company using components from the carmaker for its own electric vehicle project. The negotiations reportedly fell through following a visit by Tim Cook and other Apple execs to BMW in Germany, but a report from Reuters today adds that talks between the two companies “may be revived at a later stage.”
The report also shares some more insight into Cook’s visit to BMW, noting that talks have stalled due to Apple wanting to “explore developing a passenger car on its own”:
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Apple and BMW have engaged in negotiations over Apple’s interest in using BMW’s i3 electric cars as a basis for its own electric car project, according to a new report from German publication…
BMW has denied a report in the German car magazine that it is developing or building a car for Apple, but not responded to a claim suggesting that Apple may be developing an ‘operating system’ for its i3 electric car.
Auto Motor Sport claimed that Apple was in discussion with BMW about the possibility of developing an electric car based on the BMW i3, following numerous reports that the Cupertino company plans to develop an Apple Car. However, Reuters reported shortly afterwards that BMW had denied this.
German carmaker BMW said on Thursday its talks with technology giant Apple did not involve developing or building a car, denying a German magazine report.
BMW did confirm that it was holding “regular talks” with Apple on “topics like connected vehicles,” offering no comment on the idea that Apple may be working on an ‘operating system’ for the car …
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CarPlay is undoubtedly a big step in the right direction. Instead of car manufacturers using their own clunky user-interfaces to give you access to things like phone calls and music, there is now a standard, Apple-designed interface.
This makes perfect sense. Apple is the king of user-interface design, and most car manufacturers, well, aren’t. There was a time when I was driving a lot of rental cars and got to experience a whole bunch of different in-car screen systems, and they ranged in usability from halfway ok to downright dreadful. None offered anything close to the simplicity and clarity of CarPlay.
The question I have about CarPlay is: does it go far enough … ?
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The day after Apple officially launched CarPlay, allowing iPhone functionality to be accessed via in-car screen systems, Apple’s VP of iPhone and iOS product marketing is at the Geneva Motor Show to help launch Carplay in the Ferrari FF. Swiss site MacPrime brought us photos of the launch …
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Screenshot from <a href="http://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/">Apple’s website</a>
Update: Volvo has posted a CarPlay experience video.
Apple has officially announced CarPlay in a press release. CarPlay is Apple’s new branding for the iOS in the Car feature originally announced at WWDC last year. Apple says CarPlay enables users to make calls, navigate maps, listen to music and access messages from the dash of compatible cars. Siri can be activated by pressing the dedicated button on the steering wheel. Apple describes the system as a “smarter, safer and more fun way” of using an iPhone in the car.
As previously reported, CarPlay will be demoed in cars by Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo this week with the cars going on sale later in the year. Apple says many manufacturers are onboard, including BMW, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota. Apple has also a launched a new section of its website to describe the various features of CarPlay.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5OZMu5u0yU]
Earlier this month we reported that a developer was seemingly able to get Apple’s upcoming iOS in the Car feature running through what we assumed was the iOS Simulator. Today, the same developer, Steven Troughton-Smith, has posted the video embedded above showing the feature actually up and running in a 800×480 Simulator window. Using the iPhone Simulator and iOS 7.0.3, the video shows the Maps app, a crude multitasking tray of sorts, and the ability to search by voice to navigate. No other apps are shown in the video, but it does appear that media controls of some kind are in the multitasking tray like in previous versions of iOS.
We noted before that the design had changed quite significantly since Apple first showed off the feature on stage at WWDC last year. The first set of screenshots posted showed a horizontal navigation bar, but the new video shows a design that’s much closer to what Apple showed on stage and what it is currently displaying on its website. Smith also made some notes of his own after playing with the simulator:
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(via automotive.com)
Amazon announced today an update to Amazon Cloud Player for iOS that brings sync support between its streaming music service and several BMW and Mini cars. Models from 2011 and forward which feature BMW Apps or Mini Connect will be able to access Amazon Cloud Player libraries with dashboard control support as well, Amazon says.
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BMW iOS app integration: Following some recent Siri Eyes Free news from Chevrolet, BMW announced today that it has partnered with handful of developers to bring similar eyes free experiences for a number of third-party iOS apps to its vehicles. BMW has partnered with Audible for audio books, Glympse for location sharing services, Rhapsody for subscription music and TuneIn for internet radio, all of which will be updating their apps in the weeks to come for compatibility with the BMW Apps system.
Plants vs Zombies 2: PopCap announced today that part two of its incredibly popular Plants vs Zombies title is finally going to land on iOS in additional to all the other usual platforms “early summer.” No clues on what might be included in the second installment, but in the meantime PopCap will launch a new version of the game on Facebook.
IM+ Instant Messenger version 7.7: A nice update to the very popular IM+ service today offers Beep mobile-to-mobile service as an in-app purchase, the ability to preview transferred images directly in chats, and the usual bug fixes and performance enhancements. iPad users will also now be able to capture photos and videos in the app.
StreamBoard version 5.0: The Twitter client that lets you track keywords and hashtags in real-time is updated to version 5.0 with many new features and enhancements:
For this incredible milestone, StreamBoard has been rewritten from the ground up bringing to you:
– A brand new streamlined interface powered by gestures
– A reimagined filter view featuring real-time graphs that you can interact with
– Much improved engine for faster speed!
– and many more!
Pac-Man version 3.5.0: iOS 6 support and new features for the Pac-Man iPad app.
Added support for iOS 6
Fixed Game Center issue for iOS 6
Updated More Games functionality
From 9to5Toys.com:
