Yesterday Apple announced the launch of CarPlay, a new protocol where your iOS device will power your car’s in-dash system. Because I’m a nerd, I’ve always had a fascination with in-car technology. My current car, a Ford, has the Microsoft Sync system which is nice when it works, but flakey. As an example, I was driving through Los Angeles recently, relying on Sync for directions when it decided to unilaterally look for updates and reset. As a result, I often find it easier to ask my phone to give me directions than the Sync system.

Another issue I have with most in-car technology is that the user interface feels as if it were designed with blindfolds and dart boards. I think it is a great idea to let our cars offload this task to Apple (and even Google). I’m looking forward to see how CarPlay works when it gets in the wild.