Apple CarPlay puts your iPhone apps on the car dash

Apple's iOS car player is now called CarPlay
Dashboard apps lookin' fine

Apple has taken to the Geneva International Motor Show to rename its wireless in-car system CarPlay, and announce the first wave of car-makers to build it into their autos.

As rumoured over the weekend, and in typically high-end fashion, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo are the first three to sign on. The first CarPlay enabled cars will be shown off at Geneva this week and will ship sometime in 2014.

You'll be able to use CarPlay to play iTunes music wirelessly from your iOS device through the cars' speaker systems, but Apple's also allowing use of third party music apps like Spotify and iHeartRadio too.

Map attack

As well as music, CarPlay integrates Apple Maps with the cars' built-in dashboard screens, and lets you use Siri to make calls, listen to messages and so on while driving.

It will come in an iOS 7 update and works with Lightning-enabled iPhones - so you'll need an iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C or iPhone 5 to make use of CarPlay.

If you don't fancy a Ferrari, Merc or Volvo, Apple has deals in place with 13 more manufacturers who will be integrating CarPlay in the future: BMW, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot Citroen, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota.

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.