iPhone 7 release date lines up with Apple iCar electric car plans

By Phil Moore | February 16, 2015

Apple is moving into the electric car market, giving Tesla a worthy rival. As the two innovators prepare to face off, Elon Musk and company have the head start on battery technology and distribution. But Apple’s secret weapon is, quite simply, the iPhone 7. Around the time the iCar release date rolls around, Apple will be prepping its newly revamped smartphone for market. And the manner in which it integrates with the car will be its secret weapon.

For years, Apple has been trying to steer car makers toward properly integrating the iPhone into their dashboard interfaces. CarPlay is the big gambit, but in typical fashion, vehicle manufacturers have been slower to adopt the technology in their new models than they said they would be. Frustrated, Apple is now ready to make things happen without having to deal with entrenched traditional auto makers weighing it down. And the iPhone 7 is a core part of that strategy.

CarPlay partially replicates the iPhone interface on a large touchscreen on the dashboard, allowing apps like Maps and Music to be operated hands free via Siri control. But an Apple iCar (for the record, no chance of that being its actual brand name) instead integrates an iOS style interface into every aspect of driving, from the speedometer to the indicators to GPS on down. In other words, people are almost literally driving an iPhone. And for those who find the iOS interface more intuitive than dealing with their car, that’s welcome news.

However Tesla already has solid footing carved out in the electric car market and a several year head start. That’s where the iPhone 7 comes in. Its release date will come sometime in the second half of 2016 (sorry to those who wanted it sooner) and while any recent iPhone will be able to be integrated into the iCar, the 7 will be the first to be designed with car integration in mind. Of the various ways in which this is crucial, one of the most intriguing becomes the matter of keeping the car charged – including monitoring battery life remotely, finding charging stations which just happen to conveniently accept Apple Pay, and so on. Tesla will be able to offer that kind of iPhone integration on some level. Apple will be able to do it more deeply.