Apple puts iOS on your dashboard with Apple CarPlay...

Apple and Volvo Car Group are joining forces to make iOS available to drivers, in the form of Apple CarPlay.

Promising to transform the in car experience, the new service brings all the features and services familiar to iPad, iPhone or iPod users directly into the car via Volvo's large centre console touch screen display.

The first car to offer Apple CarPlay will be the all new XC90 SUV which will be introduced later in 2014, replacing the original XC90, which became the best selling model in Volvo's history.

"iPhone users will feel completely at home in a new Volvo," says Hakan Samuelsson, President and CEO, Volvo Car Group. "We have created a wholly-integrated user experience in our large portrait-oriented touch screen that takes the in-car mobile device experience to a new level.

"That, coupled with the obvious driver safety benefits of an advanced voice control system like Siri, made Apple a perfect match for Volvo."

Volvo enhances Apple's capabilities by linking them to a specially-developed interface that allows drivers to use voice and touch controls to access Apple features and services, ensuring the entire interaction is always safe and easy to use.

With Apple CarPlay, Cupertino says users will be able to recognise their basic iPhone applications, such as phone, messages, music and navigation. The initial offer also features third party audio apps including Spotify, the popular music streaming service.

Apple CarPlay allows connection of iPhone to the car through a Lightning cable – with Wi-Fi coming in the near future, based on a streaming H.264 video feed that returns user input from the touch screen.

Apple CarPlay will be available in forthcoming Volvo models based on the new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA), starting with the all-new Volvo XC90 later in 2014.