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" As outlined earlier, Apple&amp;#039;s full-fledged foray into an automotive multimedia interface is finally here, and it&amp;#039;s called CarPlay. What&amp;#039;s it like to operate Apple&amp;#039;s CarPlay, and is it everything we&amp;#039;ve come to expect from the Cupertino-based company? We spent some one-on-one time at the Geneva Motor Show with a CarPlay-equipped 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class to find out. Easy, Peasy CarPlay fires up automatically when an iPhone 5, 5c, or 5S is plugged in via a Lightning connection, and the first thing you&amp;#039;ll see is a simplified version of the oh-so-familiar iOS 7 desktop. A select series of CarPlay-optimized apps appear on this page-- among them phone, music, messages, and Spotify apps-- as well a discreet digital clock on the left side with a signal strength indicator for cell reception and connection type.  Straightforward\u2014But in This Application\u2014Tedious Scrolling Scrolling through the apps in the Mercedes-Benz C-Class is a linear experience. Unlike other CarPlay setups (like Ferrari&amp;#039;s FF integration or Volvo demo in their Estate Concept, both of which use a touchscreen), the Benz incorporates a central command knob that is capable of rotating or tilting in four different directions. Further (and perhaps oversimplifying matters), the only way to scroll through the selections is by rotating the wheel, which sometimes requires a lengthy spin of the wheel when clicking past several apps.  CarPlay Wheel The turn-to-scroll feature, according to Apple rep Stephen Chick, &amp;quot;\u2026 is intended be a simple paradigm of rotate, select, back.&amp;quot; Though not annoying enough to be a dealbreaker, it seems somewhat tedious to scroll through rows of apps when a simple right or left click would do; the omission of right, left, up, or down clicking seems like an odd limitation in this age of touchscreens with multi-touch gesturing and pinch-zooming. Using CarPlay the touchscreen-less C-Class feels like a bit of a throwback, especially when the Ferrari and Volvo setups offer similar animations and inertia scrolling as featured on iPhones. Perhaps version 2.0 will acknowledge the obvious convenience of sliding the dial in one of four directions, but we also heard a hint that touchpad integration might also be coming in the future. Siri Still Rules Clicking the Comand wheel downwards selects the app, but the system can also activate Siri with a tap of the button to the top right of the wheel\u2014just like Apple&amp;#039;s the Eyes Free feature, which enables Siri voice controls to be triggered while driving. Once in Siri mode, text messages can be dictated or wheel-dialed, with a fast scroll of the wheel triggering an alphabet picker function. We couldn&amp;#039;t confirm whether spelling-by-dial is permitted when the vehicle is moving. Though the system can be manually navigated, Siri still requires a cell signal for use\u2014after all, CarPlay works by manipulating the iPhone through the car interface, interpreting the data, and outputting that data on the screen. Optimized Graphics for Autos  In the Mercedes application, display graphics have been optimized for the C-Class&amp;#039;s 8.4-inch screen, with relatively larger app button sizing. Content fills the screen with a bigger font size locked into landscape orientation, with street names adjusted accordingly for the larger display. Seems Apple erred in the direction of safety and ease of use over outright elegance here, going for a look that&amp;#039;s slightly chunkier but still in line with their overall aesthetics. Bottom Line: An Excellent Place to Start Though the integration of personal electronics into automotive environments started years ago with simple iPod connectivity, the wholistic approach offered by Apple&amp;#039;s CarPlay has been a considerably longer journey, one that will soon become ubiquitous among carmakers. As our Apple rep told us, &amp;quot;We want to work with as many car companies as possible.&amp;quot; While the holy grail of multimedia integration is a completely seamless connection between cell phone and car that has yet to be fully realized, CarPlay succeeds in closing much of the gap between the devices, delivering Apple&amp;#039;s famously slick interface through the familiarity of the vehicle&amp;#039;s nav screen. Concern over safety and driver distraction issues may prevent us from ever seeing our cell phone screens mirrored on our car&amp;#039;s nav screens, but the inevitable follow-up efforts suggest there&amp;#039;s plenty of room for evolution within this long-awaited arena. Even more promising? The inevitable competition that will be inspired by the forthcoming Android interfaces (as announced at this year&amp;#039;s Consumer Electronics Show), which will use the Open Automotive Alliance standard to embed Google&amp;#039;s platform directly into cars, and undoubtedly fuel the race to develop the ultimate phone-car interface. This post orignally published at Popular Mechanics. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/cars/a27599/apple-carplay-2015-mercedes-benz-c-class/>