Earlier this week we pointed out that several cars were spotted on display in Moscone Center during the morning of Apple’s WWDC keynote. While Apple’s CarPlay technology did not get a mention during the information-dense two hour keynote on Monday, it turns out those cars were used to give CarPlay demoes to press and attendees at the conference.
We already noted Ferrari’s FF model, which has had CarPlay support since the official announcement, and USA Today mentions that a 1965 Ford Mustang was featured as well (with an aftermarket solution offered by Pioneer). However, Apple gave USA Today a CarPlay demo in a Chevy Spark as seen in the video below. Interestingly, Chevrolet is noted as a “committed partner” on Apple’s CarPlay microsite but not included among automakers shipping CarPlay-equipped vehicles in 2014…
The CarPlay implementation shown in the video demonstration is very similar to models offered by Ferarri, Volvo, and Hyundai using the touch screen display (Mercedes-Benz, however, have opted for only using hardware controls). Seen in the video is a dedicated Chevrolet app presumably for accessing and managing various features outside of the CarPlay infotainment system.
While it’s possible Chevrolet is planning to incorporate Apple’s CarPlay technology into the Spark this year based on this demonstration, the case may be that this particular Spark is a concept vehicular intended just for this purpose. This could make Chevrolet the first car maker to ship CarPlay in an electric vehicle as it offers a full-electric car with the Spark EV.
We’ve reached out to Chevrolet to find out if and when the Chevy Spark featured in USA Today’s demo would be available to the public, but the automaker did not have any additional news to share at this time.
It’s interesting, though, that Apple opted to feature an unannounced vehicle rather than something from Volvo, Hyundai, or Mercedes-Benz.
