iOS in the Car; I'm saying that it's worth a second thought. To me, this feels like a large deviation from anything that Apple have ever done before. When have Apple ever let any other hardware company use their operating system? I'm sure there will be people willing to tell me something such as 'in 1988 after Steve had been gone for a few years they were desperate and blah, blah, blah'. The fact is, Apple make the software, they make the hardware, and they make sure it works beautifully together, so what's going on here?
I can certainly imagine a scenario in which Apple provide the whole system and the manufacturers simply stick it in their cars and forget about it, but I hope this isn't the case. With iOS implemented into an actual Ferrari, why wouldn't you want an app to score you on how well you drive, and maybe give you points to compare against your friends? I know it's not the most exciting use of this technology, but it's certainly one of the more sensible ones.
This brings me on to another point; when is this API going to be open to developers? Is this going to be like a day one of the App Store thing where after some time and enough demand Apple release the SDK, or will we never get our hands on it? Without a doubt the apps would need an even stricter review process than the one currently used for iOS and Mac apps, but surely it would be worth it to see what a few geniuses come up with to change the way that we think about in-car software forever.
Without stretching this speculation piece too far, what does this change in how we consume iOS mean for the future? If it's in cars, when will it be in ATM's, or a doctor surgery? Will I get iOS in my oven or any home-automation? Also, if Apple are willing to put iOS in a bloody car, then why are people so opposed to the idea that they'd put it on a bigger screen iPhone? I'm a developer, and yes the reliability of device sizes has been awesome, but to get to that future where iOS is more than something that runs on two types of devices, stuff like this has to start happening, and I think that it's awesome.