German automaker Audi has announced that it has been conducting “intensive dialog” with Apple to integrate the iPhone maker’s CarPlay infotainment system into its new vehicles beginning in 2015. Audi was a founding member of Google’s “Open Automotive Alliance,” based on the search giant’s Android mobile operating system.
Audi, which until now did not have a publicly-disclosed relationship with Apple, says it has worked to separate the vehicular and entertainment functions of its in-car system and will add both CarPlay and Android Auto to future releases. Consumers will be able to choose between the platforms “at any time.”
“Our customers want to be ‘always on’ and use the services they know from their smartphones in cars as well,” Audi board member Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg said in a release. “In this regard, we are working closely with leading companies like Google and Apple. In the future, customers will be able to use the functions available to them on their smartphones via the operating systems in their cars as well.”
Apple debut CarPlay, originally dubbed iOS in the Car, at its 2013 Worldwide Developers Conference. It’s partners included a wide range of automobile makers, however Audi was not included in the list.
Google introduced the Open Automotive Alliance with Audi, GM, and Hyundai earlier this year, and debuted version one of Android Auto at this week’s I/O Conference in San Francisco, CA.
