Nine auto makers partner with Apple for 'Eyes Free' Siri support

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
The launch of iOS 6 will bring greater automobile integration to the iPhone with "Eyes Free," a new feature that will allow a car to bring up Siri voice control.

The Eyes Free component of iOS 6 was unveiled by Scott Forstall, Apple's senior vice president of iOS Software, at Monday's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote.

"You've heard of hands free before," Forstall said. "Hands free allows you to keep your ands on the steering wheel while you use your phone.

"Well, we want to integrate Siri even better with the car. And so we're working with a number of car manufacturers to enable you to use a button right on the steering wheel to bring up Siri."

With Hands Free, the iPhone screen stays off, so it will not distract the driver. Since Siri talks back to a user out loud, drivers can control many functions on their iPhone with just the press of a button and the use of their voice, allowing them to keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.

Eyes Free


Forstall revealed that a number of manufacturers have committed to Eyes Free Siri integration in the next 12 months. The full list of auto makers shown by Apple at Monday's keynote is:
  • BMW
  • General Motors
  • Mercedes-Benz
  • Land Rover
  • Jaguar
  • Audi
  • Toyota
  • Chrysler
  • Honda
Eyes Free


Apple's official product page for Siri functions in iOS 6 notes that Eyes Free will allow users to call people, select and play music, hear and compose text messages, use Maps and get directions, read notifications, find calendar information, add reminders and more.

Even before iOS 6 and Eyes Free were announced, some auto makers were working to offer Siri integration with their vehicles. For example, in February Mercedes-Benz announced that its in-house "Digital DriveStyle App" would make it the first automative manufacturer to offer built-in Siri support.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 66
    eriamjheriamjh Posts: 1,630member
    No Ford. With MS's Sync, that's no surprise.
  • Reply 2 of 66


    Audi is on board....I wonder if Volkswagen will also sign-up.

  • Reply 3 of 66
    jbro1999jbro1999 Posts: 38member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Eriamjh View Post



    No Ford. With MS's Sync, that's no surprise.


    Hopefully they change that.  I love my ford, and I like sync. But this would be much better.  If they don't have "Eyes Free" in the next couple of years, might go back to GM!

  • Reply 4 of 66
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    This is a great next step. I'm glad to see that more commands were added to Siri but I was honestly expecting more yesterday.


    PS: The irony will be that Apple is changing the 30pin dock connector and hasn't told any of the auto-makers¡ (was making a joke that apparently didn't work)

    eriamjh wrote: »
    No Ford. With MS's Sync, that's no surprise.

    Nice catch. I think you're right. I wonder if their contract with MS prevents them or if they are just so happy to be with MS. :)
  • Reply 5 of 66
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member


    The car integration is great and the sports scores are great, but better performance wouldn't go amiss.

  • Reply 6 of 66
    dr_lhadr_lha Posts: 236member

    Quote:


    PS: The irony will be that Apple is changing the 30pin dock connector and hasn't told any of the auto-makers.



     


    Given that we're talking Bluetooth integration here, does that really matter? All the dock connector needs to do is provide power.

  • Reply 7 of 66
    lilgto64lilgto64 Posts: 1,147member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    PS: The irony will be that Apple is changing the 30pin dock connector and hasn't told any of the auto-makers.

     


     


    Was that announced yesterday? I thought that was still rumor. 


     
  • Reply 8 of 66
    hittrj01hittrj01 Posts: 753member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lilgto64 View Post


     


    Was that announced yesterday? I thought that was still rumor. 


     



    Didn't you know that any rumor thrown out there is automatically a fact? ;)

  • Reply 9 of 66


    hopefully they open it to third-party audio decks so we can replace our decks with iphone able stereos on other cars.


    this could be a bigger seller

  • Reply 10 of 66


    This is lame. My Lexus has a phone button. My iPhone is connected to it via bluetooth - yet I KNOW they wont offer an upgrade (yes my console is software upgradeable) to implement this. Instead they want me to buy a new car. Lame lame lame!

  • Reply 11 of 66
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member


    Now that Siri can open apps...Siri. Open Google app. 

  • Reply 12 of 66
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    This is what Apple is very good at; partnership. Starting small, convincing the partner that if it doesn't work out they're still a small company and it won't hurt that many customers. And if it works they'll build out their product, expand to more countries and market it to the fullest.

    [URL=http://forums.appleinsider.com/image/id/167643/width/600/height/401][IMG]http://forums.appleinsider.com/image/id/167643/width/600/height/401[/IMG][/URL]

    Siri starts with iPhone, expands to new countries, comes to TV? I don't think I'll be talking to my TV, but who knows? Don't use dictations on my iPad either, but that might change as well.
  • Reply 13 of 66
    swissmac2swissmac2 Posts: 216member


    These features have got me excited about iOS again. True hands free calling and texting, calendar and other personal organisation while driving sounds great. I hope I don't have to buy a new car to take advantage of it though - car manufacturers are usually loathe to update older models with aftermarket accessories - but I hope they will come.


     


    I just hope the new iPhone 5 is a different shape to iP4 as I just couldn't hold one of those without it making my hand feel it was holding a knife the wrong way around. But then when it launches I suppose it won't work with Snow Leopard - and I really don't fancy the toy look and feel of the new OS X. Maybe Mountain Lion will be an improvement over Lion (not hard really as Lion was IMO akin to Vista) but the changes to the apps to make it more "iPad like" are negative IMO. For instance, yesterday I was trying to create a spreadsheet in Numbers for iPad and after 20 minutes gave up because it was so slow and cumbersome and all the controls were hidden, just like in Excel. I switched to Numbers on the Mac and the whole thing was finished in less than 10 minutes. I need efficient applications on my Mac, not ones that remind me of the frustrations of using my iPad (which I love, but not for spreadsheets!)

  • Reply 14 of 66
    originalgoriginalg Posts: 383member


    I'd like to see other high-end manufacturers also sign up: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, Rolls Royce, etc. I'm a bit surprised Chrysler and Nissan aren't on-board as they have a strong presence in North America as well. I also assume, that by GM, Toyota and Honda, by extension, it will include many of their brands (Cadillac, Lexus, Acura). Hopefully it'll work via bluetooth rather than (the new) cable. In a few years or earlier, the other brands will come around. I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing iphone docks as a factory option or standard equipment soon.

  • Reply 15 of 66


    In my opinion, it is unsafe for a driver to direct his attention to electronics instead of paying attention to his driving.  The eye free aspect helps, but the real distraction is paying attention to something other than driving.

  • Reply 16 of 66
    island hermitisland hermit Posts: 6,217member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by OriginalG View Post


    I'd like to see other high-end manufacturers also sign up: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, Rolls Royce, etc. I'm a bit surprised Chrysler and Nissan aren't on-board as they have a strong presence in North America as well. I also assume, that by GM, Toyota and Honda, by extension, it will include many of their brands (Cadillac, Lexus, Acura). Hopefully it'll work via bluetooth rather than (the new) cable. In a few years or earlier, the other brands will come around. I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing iphone docks as a factory option or standard equipment soon.



     


    Hmmm... I see Chrysler in the list.

  • Reply 17 of 66


    This is great news.  The more integrated these phones are the safer.  Android and the others will do the same, and the other car manufacturers will follow suit to maintain competitiveness.  The statistics are scary people.  Distracted driving is the most deadliest thing out there and we encounter it every day.  Just a few weeks ago a teen was sentences to several years in jail for accidentally killing someone while driving distracted by the phone.  Everyone lost that day.


     


    The modern era phone is amazing, but it can be extremely dangerous at the same time if used without care.

  • Reply 18 of 66
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member


    I like FORD and always had a Ford in my Garage, but they are being stupid in this case with the long term agreement that have with M$. It going to make their product look bad in the future. Syncmyride does not work well, it has lots of restriction, and in typical M$ fashion limited to no updates as problem by the users are found.


     


    Ford is the loser in this case.

  • Reply 19 of 66
    bilbo63bilbo63 Posts: 285member


    This basically works now in my 2011 Kia Sorento, the only difference is I can't activate it via the steering wheel. My iPhone connects via the 30 pin connector. I press and hold the home button on my phone and everything beyond that goes through the KIA's built-in hands-free system. It uses the vehicle's mic right above my head and the vehicle's speaker system as opposed to the the iPhone only. I've sent texts and e-mails completely via voice commands. I would like to activate Siri via the steering wheel hands free button though. 

  • Reply 20 of 66
    isidoreisidore Posts: 67member


    Hang on a second, doesn't using Siri mean connecting to Apple's server farm in the US? Why should I want to send my location data and other personal information to the US?

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