The technology giant’s system has been previewed at Geneva on cars from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, with Apple saying future takers include BMW Group, Ford and General Motors amongst a long list.

In response, Frost & Sullivan has highlighted that Apple’s strategy to let the iOS serve as a one-stop shop for connected infotainment in the car is in direct competition with MirrorLink-type integration solution, but is limited and exclusive to i-devices. The clear intention is to reuse the existing software for IVI platforms and follow a service model in the automotive market.

It added that this is first time Apple has partnered to provide its solutions coming out from the closed architecture they follow. It is quite evident that Apple is willing to compromise on the control of ecosystem and have to work within certain limits with automotive industry partners, which, on the other hand, has already been initiated by Google.

In a statement, Frost & Sullivan said: ‘There are questions surrounding how Apple, who is dominant with high number of smartphone sales, would look at a niche automotive market with lesser revenues. It is to be noted that Apple stepped into the automotive business in a time where the smartphone and tablet industry is noticing a slump and is majorly dominated by the likes of Android. Another observation is that Volkswagen Group is not a part of Apple’s plan, since they are clearly moving towards Android with the recent announcement from Audi.’

The firm added: ‘Though the solution looks quite promising, there still are challenges for Apple. The first one being the exclusivity to iPhones, particularly the second filter of only the new-gen phones (5,5C and 5S with iOS7); which is locking in a single and closed ecosystem. With the issues related to Apple maps that surfaced a year back, it is to yet be seen whether or not Apple will maintain the exclusivity of Apple maps or allow Google to be a part of system.

‘Also the success of this product majorly depends on how Apple is going to present the next iPhone following the failed realisation of expectations with previous releases. Frost & Sullivan expects that in essence CarPlay is like MirrorLink for iOS and it will most certainly not be the only option for these cars. Nonetheless, with its massive developer ecosystem and the demonstration of Apple cockpit, the bigger picture could be heading towards an option that is a system integrator, which could potentially disrupt the Tier-1 value chain. On the other hand, Google is playing safe as a software integrator, trying to offer Android as a native OS for IVI systems and is expected to garner a lot of interest due to the domination of smart devices.’