Earlier Apple had announced a new feature called CarPlay. It is basically iOS in the Car that was been rebranded into something a little easier to roll off the tongue, and what it does is that it integrates iOS into the vehicle, allowing users to use certain iOS features without having to reach for their phone while driving, which safe to say is not recommended.Now apart from offering up default and native apps, Apple has also announced support for third-party apps such as iTunes Radio, Spotify, Beats Radio, Stitcher Radio for Podcasts, and iHeartRadio, but oddly enough Pandora was missing from the mix. Could it be that Apple sees Pandora as a rival to iTunes Radio and decided not to include them?
While that remains as pure speculation for now, Pandora has since released a statement to the folks at MacRumors stating, “At this time, Pandora is not integrated with Apple CarPlay. As a first mover in the auto space, we continue to broaden our relationships with OEMs while also exploring other opportunities to expand our presence in the car. Apple has been and continues to be a valued partner.”
Based on this statement, it sounds as if Pandora might have other plans to integrate themselves into vehicles, and partnering with other OEMs is a possibility. Could it be that they might be partnering up with Google for Google’s own in-vehicle service? Then again Pandora notes that their service is already integrated in more than 130 different vehicles, so perhaps Pandora’s integration with CarPlay might come at a later date with different car models.
As it stands, CarPlay will debut in vehicles made by Ferrari, Mercedes, and Volvo, but it is also expected to make its way into vehicles mad eby BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota at a later date.