It’s only a matter of time, experts say, before vehicles are largely operated by the same mobile operating systems that control our phones.
Over the weekend, this prediction came one step closer to reality as Volkswagen unveiled the iBeetle at the Shanghai Auto Show.
Two iconic products will form an alliance later this year: the iPhone from Apple, and the Beetle from Volkswagen. The iPhone will interface with the Beetle and Beetle Convertible via a specially developed app and a docking station. The iBeetle is the first model line from the Volkswagen Group in which the iPhone will become an integrated component.
Volkswagen offers two different ways to acquire the innovative interface between iPhone and Beetle: as an app or as a standard feature of the new iBeetle and iBeetle Convertible. Both special models will be launched at the beginning of 2014, Volkswagen announced.
It goes without saying that the iBeetle is one of the first cars in the world to have a genuine integrative interface for the iPhone that was coordinated with Apple.
The special model will be available as a Coupe and Convertible. The colors and equipment features of the iBeetle are stylistically linked to the Cupertino-based US company, bringing its iconic smartphones into harmony with what is certainly one of the world’s most iconic automotive designs.
To learn more, check out the full press release from Volkswagen here.
