An early look at iOS in the Car

Apple's iOS in the Car, which we first met last summer at WWDC, may soon make an official debut. In fact, the dash-friendly interface has been hiding right under our noses in the public version of iOS 7.0.3. Developer Steven Troughton-Smith managed to capture an early version of the interface in action by emulating a vehicle display on his desktop -- he posted a video walkthrough of the pre-release software today. The current iteration appears to include a full-screen map, with simple touch controls and indicators framing the top and bottom. There's even a software home button, which can be used to switch between apps and return to the (currently nonexistent) home screen.

Based on today's demo, you'll be able to enter a destination directly into the vehicle by speaking a search term, or by searching on a connected iPhone or iPad. Current functionality appears to be limited to basic location entry and map readouts, but it's definitely a work in progress -- another dev, Denis Stas, managed to get his hands on a screenshot from the iOS 7.1 beta, which offers a more iOS 7-like look and feel. We have yet to hear from vehicle manufacturers about confirmed partnerships with Apple, so there's no word on when iOS 7 in the Car will actually hit the road, though judging by the tremendous interest in iOS integration in general, several agreements are already in the works.

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