Geely have announced today that they are working with Apple to roll out Apple CarPlay across their upcoming fleet of vehicles.
The partnership between Geely and Apple will see the auto maker become the first Chinese car manufacturer to integrate Apple’s in car entertainment and personal assistant features.
CarPlay integration will allow drivers and passengers to take advantage of Apple’s Siri personal assistant, play music, answer messages and get directions through simple voice commands.
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The first Geely Auto model to feature Apple CarPlay is an upcoming compact SUV (seen in these spy photos). The currently unnamed model will be unveiled later this year and go on sale in early 2016. Past Geely vehicles have featured in-car WIFI hotspots and other connected features.
Although Apple’s iOS device are more expensive than Chinese Android brands, they do offer features that are available in China and work out of the box. Apple’s official App Store, Maps, iTunes and Mail all work in China, while Google alternatives are currently blocked and require a VPN to access.