As we previously reported, Apple and three high-end car companies were rumored to be making a big announcement involving integrating "iOS in the Car." Those rumors turned out to be true, as Apple's "CarPlay" was unveiled at the International Motor Show in Geneva on Tuesday.

Ferrari, officially the first company to feature Apple's CarPlay infotainment system, made the announcement on Tuesday, with Ferrari's chairman Luca di Montezemolo saying, "As of tomorrow you may buy a Ferrari FF with Apple's CarPlay," according to the New York Times. Volvo and Mercedes-Benz, the other two high-end automakers Apple first partnered with, made similar announcements.

Even if you have the kind of scratch to afford one of these cars, don't get too excited yet. Even though "you may buy" Ferrari's CarPlay enabled automobile, Apple still says the feature is "coming soon," and it may take months before the iPhone's OS is running infotainment systems on the road. "I apologize to our customers that models like LaFerrari are sold out," said di Montezemolo, according to NYTimes. "But soon we will have more new models for them to choose from, like the new California T. And all of them will be equipped with Apple's CarPlay."

CarPlay Features

As we previously reported as the then-termed "iOS in the Car," Apple's new infotainment system, baked into a car's dashboard hardware, will provide a more seamless -- and hopefully safer -- integration of a select few iPhone apps into your driving experience.

Instead of connecting music and calls through Bluetooth, CarPlay is enabled when you plug your iPhone directly into the car, using a Lightning cable (wireless connectivity through a car's WiFi will eventually be available as well). Once plugged in, you can access iOS features like Siri through voice commands, but you'll also be able to make calls, get directions, select music on different apps, and send and receive messages through the car's console hardware.

That means iOS functionality with third-party touchscreens -- a first for Apple -- but also through the manufacturers' own control knobs and buttons, depending on what kind of car you get.

Because CarPlay pushes the graphic interface from the iPhone directly to the car's own navigation screen, one could see a future heads-up display for CarPlay, if an automaker wants to push the edge of the technology.

Don't expect to be writing emails and watching YouTube on the go, however. Like every "car mode" for smartphones, CarPlay purposely limits the functionality of iOS so drivers are less distracted (and stupid). CarPlay will allow music from the iPhone's built-in music player, including iTunes Radio, along with Podcasts and apps like Beats Music, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and Stitcher. Apple's Maps app gets pushed to the car's console screen, giving you a built-in GPS system that can also predict possible destinations based on email, text messages, contacts, and calendars pulled from your iPhone. Messages and calling are enabled as well, though only through Siri, to keep eyes on the road.

Availability

Right now, the only CarPlay-compatible cars will come from those three carmakers, plus Honda, Hyundai, and Jaguar, this year. However, Apple has a wide range of "committed partners" for future CarPlay-compatible cars after 2014, including BMW, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, LandRover, Opel, Citroën, and (the more attainable) Chevy, Ford, and Kia.

But since CarPlay requires a Lightning connector, Apple users with iPhones older than the iPhone 5 are out of luck.

Android users are also in the cold, for now, but Google, NVIDIA, and GM, Audi, Honda, and Hyundai are also partnered to bring full Android integration to four wheels in the future.

With all this mobile-to-car integration, it's too bad watching Netflix on the go is still too dangerous -- if only someone would invent a car that could drive itself while you watch movies and Facebook your friends about where you're going.