 It turns out that 2015 is the year you finally lose any excuse for using your phone behind the wheel. Earlier this year, the first cars with Google's Android Auto started hitting showrooms. And now it's Apple's turn, as its CarPlay is starting to hit the masses. Chevrolet is one of the first car makers to enable CarPlay across its lineup, and I've been able to test it out in a 2016 Corvette Stingray. CarPlay is very similar in concept to Android Auto. It replaces your car's native infotainment system with an interface that's very similar to an iPhone or an iPad. That's a good thing. The vast majority of in-car infotainment systems, like the one in this otherwise very cool Corvette, are garbage, with ugly icons, slow scrolling, and confusing menus. CarPlay is just a basic grid of app icons, which any iPhone user will instantly recognize and know what to do with. Plug in your iPhone, scroll through the pages, and tap on the app you want to use. There's even a button that mimics a home key on your iPhone and takes you back to that grid of icons. Those apps are fairly limited, however, and CarPlay only supports a handful of them. There's Apple Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, podcasts, audiobooks, and a few other audio apps supported, plus Apple Maps, iMessage and SMS, phone calls, and well, that's pretty much it. Unlike Android Auto, CarPlay doesn't support any third-party messaging apps, and you won't find any of Google's apps here, such as Maps. Underpinning all of this is Siri, which is your main point of interaction with CarPlay. Scrolling through lists in each app is very limited and rather annoying, especially on the lousy touchscreen that comes in this Corvette. So most things are done by voice commands. You can ask Siri all of the same things in the car that you can do on the phone, such as, what's the weather, or what's on your calendar. Send a message to Tom Connors. All text messages are sent and dictated by voice. Like Android Auto, CarPlay doesn't actually let you read anything on the screen. Siri can also control Apple Music, but sadly, voice controls don't work in third-party apps, making them rather limited. But on the plus side, dictation to Siri is often accurate, making it easy to send messages on the first try. Apple Maps is perhaps unsurprisingly less accurate than Google Maps, however, and it's the one thing that I really wish I could change in CarPlay. Traffic information doesn't seem to be as up-to-date, and when I've compared routes side by side with an Android phone, Google's directions are often faster and easier to navigate. CarPlay will get you from point A to point B, but it just might not be the easiest ride there. The problem I have with CarPlay is that, well, it's just too limited. That's largely by design, both CarPlay and Android Auto are built to lessen the distractions you have when behind the wheel, but I'd really love to be able to send messages in Facebook Messenger or Google Hangouts, in addition to standard iMessage or text. I also personally prefer Spotify over Apple Music, but in CarPlay, Apple Music is a far better experience because I can access my full library with my voice, which I can't really do with Spotify. CarPlay is also less pretty to look at than Android Auto, and its app grid layout is more tedious to navigate than the tabs system that Google uses. It requires you to bounce in and out of apps more often than should be necessary. But CarPlay is still miles ahead of anything I've seen from automakers, including what's in this Corvette, and it's a huge step forward for in-car information, navigation, and entertainment. Apple's got a few kinks to work out still, especially with Apple Maps, but for the most part, I can't imagine driving a car without this kind of convenience and functionality. Now if only it would keep me from speeding in this Stingray.
 It turns out that 2015 is the year you finally lose any excuse for using your phone behind
 the wheel.
 Earlier this year, the first cars with Google's Android Auto started hitting showrooms.
 And now it's Apple's turn, as its CarPlay is starting to hit the masses.
 Chevrolet is one of the first car makers to enable CarPlay across its lineup, and I've
 been able to test it out in a 2016 Corvette Stingray.
 CarPlay is very similar in concept to Android Auto.
 It replaces your car's native infotainment system with an interface that's very similar
 to an iPhone or an iPad.
 That's a good thing.
 The vast majority of in-car infotainment systems, like the one in this otherwise very cool Corvette,
 are garbage, with ugly icons, slow scrolling, and confusing menus.
 CarPlay is just a basic grid of app icons, which any iPhone user will instantly recognize
 and know what to do with.
 Plug in your iPhone, scroll through the pages, and tap on the app you want to use.
 There's even a button that mimics a home key on your iPhone and takes you back to that
 grid of icons.
 Those apps are fairly limited, however, and CarPlay only supports a handful of them.
 There's Apple Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, podcasts, audiobooks, and a few other audio
 apps supported, plus Apple Maps, iMessage and SMS, phone calls, and well, that's pretty
 much it.
 Unlike Android Auto, CarPlay doesn't support any third-party messaging apps, and you won't
 find any of Google's apps here, such as Maps.
 Underpinning all of this is Siri, which is your main point of interaction with CarPlay.
 Scrolling through lists in each app is very limited and rather annoying, especially on
 the lousy touchscreen that comes in this Corvette.
 So most things are done by voice commands.
 You can ask Siri all of the same things in the car that you can do on the phone, such
 as, what's the weather, or what's on your calendar.
 Send a message to Tom Connors.
 All text messages are sent and dictated by voice.
 Like Android Auto, CarPlay doesn't actually let you read anything on the screen.
 Siri can also control Apple Music, but sadly, voice controls don't work in third-party
 apps, making them rather limited.
 But on the plus side, dictation to Siri is often accurate, making it easy to send messages
 on the first try.
 Apple Maps is perhaps unsurprisingly less accurate than Google Maps, however, and it's
 the one thing that I really wish I could change in CarPlay.
 Traffic information doesn't seem to be as up-to-date, and when I've compared routes
 side by side with an Android phone, Google's directions are often faster and easier to
 navigate.
 CarPlay will get you from point A to point B, but it just might not be the easiest ride
 there.
 The problem I have with CarPlay is that, well, it's just too limited.
 That's largely by design, both CarPlay and Android Auto are built to lessen the distractions
 you have when behind the wheel, but I'd really love to be able to send messages in
 Facebook Messenger or Google Hangouts, in addition to standard iMessage or text.
 I also personally prefer Spotify over Apple Music, but in CarPlay, Apple Music is a far
 better experience because I can access my full library with my voice, which I can't
 really do with Spotify.
 CarPlay is also less pretty to look at than Android Auto, and its app grid layout is more
 tedious to navigate than the tabs system that Google uses.
 It requires you to bounce in and out of apps more often than should be necessary.
 But CarPlay is still miles ahead of anything I've seen from automakers, including what's
 in this Corvette, and it's a huge step forward for in-car information, navigation, and entertainment.
 Apple's got a few kinks to work out still, especially with Apple Maps, but for the most
 part, I can't imagine driving a car without this kind of convenience and functionality.
 Now if only it would keep me from speeding in this Stingray.