Apple said Monday that future CarPlay-equipped autos will work wirelessly with an iPhone, rather than requiring the device to be plugged in.
In another development, Apple also said it is adding the ability for carmakers to bring their own apps to CarPlay. That’s a key move to bring carmakers into the fold, many of whom are leery of ceding too much control to Apple.
Until now, CarPlay apps have largely been limited to a set of audio apps and built-in programs such as Apple Maps.
“At the end of the day we don’t want to end up as the handset business,” Ford CEO Mark Fields told Re/code earlier this year.
The announcements came as part of Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference. (Click here for our live coverage.)
Apple first talked about its in-car effort two years ago under the iOS in the Car moniker, before renaming it CarPlay.
It had been due to show up in multiple car lines last year, though it has been somewhat slower than anticipated, as has the rollout of Google’s Android Auto.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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