Next Volvo infotainment system will look like an iPhone

After more than a decade of disparate and clunky systems that have tried to force their ways of doing things upon our already-overloaded brains, it appears that smartphones and cars are finally going to be friends, after all. And by that, we don't mean that it's suddenly OK to text and drive. Rather, the infotainment systems in cars are finally going to have operating systems that mirror those of smartphones as they interact with your own phone.

Volvo is joining forces with a Cupertino, Calif., computer and consumer electronics company called Apple (you may have heard of them) with the goal of transforming the in-car experience from one of searching through menus by twisting a knob to simply using a giant iPhone touchscreen built into your car, "Star Trek"-style. Called Apple CarPlay, the service will offer all the features and services that iPhone and iPad users have become accustomed to, placed on the car's large center touchscreen display.

Apple CarPlay will be controlled not only by a touchscreen, but also through steering wheel-mounted buttons and voice recognition, for safety. Users will have access to basic features like music, navigation, phone, and messages, as well as popular third-party apps like Spotify. The screen itself will mix Apple and Volvo content, the latter for controlling things in cars that are not present in phones, but the design of the layout will be pure Apple.

"iPhone users will feel completely at home in a new Volvo," said H

By Jay Ramey