Siri Eyes Free

[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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iPhone integration in car consoles is of course nothing new, with Siri Eyes Free becoming an increasingly standard feature in new cars. But next year’s electric scooters appear to be taking the idea one step further: if you go to the showrooms to look at an electric scooter next year, you may well find that your iPhone doesn’t just connect to the console, it is the console … 
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http://youtu.be/W-WmjpVifkE

If we needed any evidence that Siri Eyes Free is likely to become either standard fitment or a low-cost option in a lot of new cars within a year or so, Opel has announced that it is now available as a €300 ($394) option on the Opel Adam, an entry-level car whose pricing starts at just €11,500 ($15,100).

Opels are made by General Motors, and many are rebranded Chevys, so there is likely crossover here with the Chevy Spark which saw Siri Eyes Free added to the Sonic and Spark this year … 
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BMW, one of Apple’s Siri Eyes-Free partners, has announced that Siri support is finally coming to the iDrive console on its 2014 model cars, along with a range of other enhancements. The car-maker is also adding support for Samsung’s Siri equivalent, S Voice.

You’ll also be able to access music on your iPhone through the iDrive system via Bluetooth, rather than the wired connection required with earlier versions, and access the web while the vehicle is stationary … 
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Steve Jobs sadly passed before he could design his iCar, so the closest we’ve got so far is Siri Eyes Free on a bunch of cars and now the new VW ‘iBeetle’. The VW-designed tribute to all things ‘i’ is laid out in the gallery above and two more shots below…

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