Apple is adding a feature to CarPlay that would allow drivers to buy gas from their car’s dashboard. The feature is currently in its early stages, but the idea is to have some CarPlay apps that can navigate to gas stations, pay for gas, and start pumps. Apple’s own interface.
Apple quietly released the feature at its latest developer conference, WWDC22based on Reuters. But this isn’t the first time Apple has tried to create a wider net between drivers. Indeed, if Apple If it cannot make its car a reality, it will enter the auto industry little by little through the market for goods and services.
Apple calls this refueling feature and it’s rolling out to developers right now. The Cupertino company claims the idea of this gas in the dash feature came after CarPlay added EV charging app, can find the charging stations and start the charging process. The apps were so successful that developers asked Apple to provide similar functionality to ICE CarPlay cars.
This could put Apple in the middle of millions of motorists and gas pumps. And, of course, the big oil companies are interested: HF Sinclair planned to use CarPlay to let drivers pay and pump gas at their 1,600 US gas stations. The appeal for oil companies is scale, because when the feature launches, they will have access to millions of CarPlay-compatible cars.
However, auto companies may be less nervous than oil companies, as this gives Apple a stronger foothold in the auto sector. Reuters note that automakers have tried this before: GM tried to make domestic gas payments popular in 2017 but failed miserably to make it popular. . General Motors eventually shut down the project earlier this year citing supplier problems.
Means it took the GM five years to throw the towel at the car interface that the driver can use to pay for gas. But we can pretty much guess why not many people use GM’s gas payment feature, or even know about it: automakers are lousy software developers. This has left an opportunity for tech companies like Apple and Google to step in with their alternatives.
Apple doesn’t charge automakers or drivers for using CarPlay, but if (or when) these gas apps grow, Apple will do a different part of the auto trade. And, really, this is just Apple being Apple. The tech giant likes to take advantage of a strong market (gasoline!) and looks to make inroads through its platforms like CarPlay or App Market — or both.
I swear, if Apple can find backdoors through CarPlay for other goods and services that cars rely on, like tires or oil changes, we’ll probably see Goodyear and Jiffy Lube apps appeared in one night. In-vehicle infotainment has become a technological world and car companies are living in it.
