Mapping

In the fight for in-car supremacy, mapping and location services will be a key battleground. That could be a big advantage for CarPlay. Already, Maps is more powerful than most built-in navigation systems thanks to features such as live traffic data. It’s also more up-to-date than the locally stored mapping apps in most cars.

However, mapping features could also be what prevents CarPlay from succeeding. Currently, Maps is the only navigation app supported by CarPlay. The addition of third-party apps like Waze could make CarPlay a killer feature, but Waze is, of course, now owned by Apple’s number one rival, Google. In the long run, CarPlay will be more successful if it offers the best of the iOS app ecosystem. It would be a pity if the contest for mapping supremacy gets in the way.