????下一場平臺之爭已然打響，這次的主戰場是在汽車內部。

????通用汽車公司的雪佛蘭汽車和現代汽車公司上周宣布，他們計劃采用新型技術，讓新款車型的儀表盤實現智能手機的功能。雪佛蘭在上周三表示，它的14款車型將同時兼容蘋果 CarPlay和Android Auto，其中就包括將于6月24日上市的2016款緊湊型轎車科魯茲。一天前，2015款現代索納塔成為第一款配置谷歌新型聲控車載軟件Android Auto的車型。

????蘋果和谷歌的平臺肩負著同樣的使命：整合智能手機與汽車儀表盤。Android Auto可以與安卓手機相連，而CarPlay則兼容iPhone。它們的工作方式也十分相似。用戶一旦把智能手機插入汽車的USB接口，手機的地圖和導航、音樂和選定的應用就會進入汽車中間的屏幕。兩個平臺還有類似的特色，以及一些顯著的不同，比如CarPlay的用戶只能使用蘋果地圖。

????蘋果和谷歌平臺上的應用都可以通過聲音、方向盤和觸摸屏控制，它們還會提供第三方的音頻應用，包括iHeartRadio和Spotify。兩家公司甚至連合作的汽車制造商都有許多重合，其中包括奧迪、通用、起亞和福特。

????蘋果和谷歌在聯網汽車上的競爭已經醞釀了好幾年。早在2013年的蘋果全球研發者大會上，蘋果就推出了適合汽車的iOS系統，這款車載標準系統最終改名為CarPlay。

????而在2014年1月，谷歌與合作伙伴奧迪、通用、本田、現代和英偉達組成了旨在讓安卓平臺進入汽車的開放汽車聯盟。幾個月后，谷歌在一年一度的I/O開發者大會上展示了他們的Android Auto系統。

????無論是對谷歌，還是對蘋果而言，這場車載平臺主導權之爭都是一大挑戰。兩家公司都希望進一步地走進消費者的生活，通過與汽車制造商的獨家合作，他們有機會達成這一目標。不過從汽車制造商的角度看，為消費者提供兩種平臺最符合他們的利益。

????除去特斯拉等少數幾家汽車制造商的產品外，與智能手機的功能和外型相比，司機用來控制空調、音樂和導航的數字控制臺看起來十分過時。許多汽車的觸控屏過于繁瑣，難以使用，很多司機不得不用手機來導航或播放音樂。

????CarPlay和Android Auto可以取代大多數汽車上的儀表盤——隨著共享汽車的發展，這一點變得越來越重要。司機只要接入Android Auto或CarPlay平臺，就能立刻在不熟悉的汽車內獲取自己的音樂和導航設定。

????這種平臺還能幫助司機留心路況，或至少是讓他們不要分神。根據美國國家公路交通安全局的最新數據，美國每時每刻都有約66萬名司機在開車時使用手機或操作電子產品。

????不過至少在初期，聯網汽車領域的統治者會是MirrorLink。汽車專業調查公司IHS Automotive上月發布的報告顯示，今年將會有110萬輛汽車安裝該系統。相比之下，安裝蘋果CarPlay的汽車數是86.1萬，而安裝谷歌Android Auto的只有64.3萬輛。不過這兩家公司會迅速趕超MirrorLink，預計到2020年，使用蘋果和谷歌系統的汽車會達到3700萬輛和3100萬輛。（財富中文網）

????譯者：嚴匡正

????審校：任文科

????The next platform battle has begun and it’s being waged inside the car.

????This week, GM’s Chevrolet and Hyundai announced plans to add technologies that will deliver smartphone functionality to the dashboard of new cars. On Wednesday, Chevrolet said it would offer both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility in 14 models, including the 2016 Cruze compact car that will debut June 24. A day earlier, the 2015 Hyundai Sonata became the first car to include Google’s new in-car voice-enabled softwareAndroid Auto.

????Both platforms have the same mission to integrate the smartphone with the vehicle’s dashboard. Android Auto connects to Android smartphones, while CarPlay works with the iPhone. And they work about the same way. Once users plug their smartphone into the car’s USB port, the phone’s maps and navigation, music and selected apps are integrated onto the central screen. Both have similar features with a few notable differences—CarPlay users can only use Apple maps.

????Applications in both platforms can be controlled by voice, steering wheel controls, and touchscreen and they’ll also will offer third-party audio apps, including iHeartRadio and Spotify. Google and Apple have even partnered with many of the same automakers, including Audi, GM , Kia and Ford .

????Apple and Google’s battle over the connected car has been building up for a couple of years now. Apple introduced iOS in the Car—the in-car standard that would eventually be renamed CarPlay—during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in 2013.

????In January 2014, Google along with partners Audi, GM, Honda, Hyundai and Nvidia, formed the Open Automotive Alliance, a coalition aimed at bringing the Android platform to the car. Several months later, Google unveiled Android Auto at its annual I/O developer conference.

????The fight to become the dominant in-car platform presents a challenge for Google and Apple. Both companies want to further entrench themselves in consumers’ lives, possibly through exclusive partnerships with automakers. But it’s in the best interest of automakers to offer both platforms to its customers.

????With the exception of a few automakers such as Tesla Motors , the digital console of the car where drivers control A/C, music, and navigation can have a decidedly old-school feel when compared to the functionality and look of a smartphone. The touchscreen in many cars can be finicky and hard to use, forcing many drivers to use their smartphone for navigation or music.

????CarPlay and Android Auto allow drivers to bypass the dashboards found in most cars—a capability that will become increasingly important as car-sharing grows. Drivers can instantly access their own music and navigational settings in a strange car by connecting to the Android Auto or CarPlay platforms.

????The platforms can also help keep drivers eyes on the road—or at least out of their laps. Some 660,000 drivers, at any given daylight moment across America, are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, according to the latest figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

????At least initially, the connected car field will be dominated by MirrorLink, appearing in 1.1 million cars this year, according to an IHS Automotive report released last month. Apple CarPlay will be in 861,000 new cars and Google’s Android Auto will be in 643,000 new cars this year. Apple and Google will quickly surpass MirrorLink, appearing in 37 million and 31 million cars by 2020, respectively.