Here ’s the driver ’s dreaming : A vehicle that ship us where we require to go , plays the music we want to hear , and let us to communicate ( within rationality ) with the outside earth , all with minimum distraction . It ’s the vision of the affiliated car , and it ’s a promise many automakers hope to deliver for 2015 .
The connected cars of tomorrow
For a sure stock of car customers , these technical school - drives will become as important as test - drives . “ You certainly want to get a look for the car itself , but it ’s just as important to essay the engineering , ” says Montoya .
For 2015 machine , this technology will either be a customized “ infotainment ” system or basically a slayer app : synchronize the car with a drivers ’ in - headphone system of rules , a la the recently announcedAndroid AutoorApple CarPlay . Some impertinent cars will eventually offer both options .
Another large development for next yr is that a hand - free , vox - control option will come standard in plug in vehicle . So all the 2015 railroad car we saw had one of these guys :
The destination here of course is for cars to do everything you want without have to ever press a individual button . But until we all have cars that translate us as well as K.I.T.T. , we ’ll also necessitate touchscreen , which is where the designs almost always let us down , as you ’ll see .
car manufacturer ca n’t seem to agree where the touchscreen should be , and — bizarrely — if they should be bear on at all . That ’s because screens are also notoriously difficult to use while driving . Case in point : After Ford annunciate a wholesale all - touchscreen / voice ascendence system , they went back andadded volume knobs in 2013 .
But here ’s the biggest job with all these organization : “ There ’s a lot of egotism with automobile companies , ” says Montoya . Every ship’s company desire its own proprietary organisation , with its own design , which means that almost every auto manufacturing business is reinventing the wheel — so to speak . Each machine ’s computer software system has its own ridiculous learning curve .
Plus , why would we want to learn how to interact with a completely new interface , touchscreen , and phonation control organization when our earpiece are already so comfortable to us ? Notably , GM is delaying its connected car program , probably just to see how the whole Android Auto / Apple CarPlay scenario will playact out .
Here are seven marque - new affiliated motorcar systems , plus two aftermarket solutions , with our recommendations .
Android Auto | Hyundai
One of the most highly anticipated demonstration at the show was Android Auto . Google released the API last weekand is encouraging app makers to get to study make relevant substance for the system , so you ’ll soon see extra medicine , news , and message apps , in gain to the one we see for Spotify and Google Play .
Along inclination of automakershas toast to support Android Auto but we exhibit it installed in a late 2015 Hyundai Sonata where a fairly great touchscreen in the center dash allows you to poke at the projection screen ( you ca n’t pinch or zoom ) or verify it by voice “ Ok , Google … ”
Here ’s where the phone / car convergence becomes so poetically fresh . Using Google Now , it get laid all your destinations , agenda , contacts , etc . So say you get in the railcar and have an dinner reservation or a flight to catch . The seafaring will remind up directions and tell you when it ’s time to go and when to get going .
Yes , the rank best part of Android Auto is , unsurprisingly , the function . Gorgeous maps , incredible seafaring , good than any other auto ’s proprietary arrangement . And it ’s an interface you ’re totally familiar with so that should ( should ! ) keep you safer behind the wheel , ripe ? Your phone must have Lollipop , and if it does , it automatically twin when you get in .
Apple CarPlay | Hyundai
A few feet away , the same former 2015 Hyundai Sonata was running Apple CarPlay , which requires iOS 7.1 or better and a lightning cable to connect . You ’ve likelyseen the demo online for this as well , but this was the first sentence I got to play with CarPlay in person .
I have to say it feel much more true to the Apple experience than the Android one did , more like my iPhone or iPad was right there with me in the car . I ’m an iPhone user so I right away felt well-heeled being to interact with it hand - liberal , thanks to Siri ’s intelligence , for estimable or for worse . We sent texts , get direction , establish euphony , no trouble .
Although the experience feels much more incorporate than Google ’s , CarPlay did n’t seem as snappy as Android Auto . The maps are not nearly as good for driving . And since Apple has n’t unfreeze its API in public yet ( they ’re only working with a smattering of secret developer so far ) there wo n’t be as many app selection when this gondola score the market .
But that ’s not really a reason to flip operating systems just for your cable car — whichever you ’re well-fixed with will be better for you . Hyundai is working to hold both systems and its simple touch screen make it quite easy and endearing to interact with them . If you ’re totally itching to get into a car with CarPlay , you ’ll have to wait for this automobile , or one of the compatible Volvos or Mercedes models to strike the market place .
Virtual Cockpit | Audi
One of the most futurist takes on the display was Audi ’s Virtual Cockpit , which moves all of the action powerful to a vast full - colour filmdom right behind the guidance wheel . you’re able to switch from a veritable - look splashboard , to a music - focused screen , to a glorious full - color navigation system , with the clink of a button on the steering wheel or a water faucet on the clickwheel on the middle cabinet ( more on that in a sec ) .
While I worried that this was super distracting , I realized cursorily that not having to glance over to the right wing at some other screen all the fourth dimension was actually quite gracious , and really , having the map right there was a huge improvement over most cars .
After two CRT screen - only demos , it was risible how much we really appreciate the clickwheel . As Montoya observe , it ’s very heavy to judge your action when you ’re tap out at a screen . Yes , you could use your voice , and almost all of these can be controlled by buttons on the steering wheel , but sometimes you really just ask tactile feedback .
Another queerness of the Audi system was that all the radio / media remain behind the guidance bike always — there are no extra screens for your passengers to see , which does n’t make it easy for your them to control your music ( but maybe that ’s a good thing in your car ) . The Virtual Cockpit will be usable on all Audi ’s TT models for 2015 .
Remote Touchpad | Lexus
Lexus made some supposedly telling upgrades to its machine-accessible car system of rules , but I could n’t deal with any of it because the interface was so poorly designed . The icons display on my thermostat screen at home are more legible and the small mousepad on the center console matt-up like it was from the 1990s . Even worse , it was n’t at all reactive ; I feel like I was attempt to play Ouija with some unseen effect in the railway car . Pass .
XC90 Tablet Infotainment Screen | Volvo
One of the well designed in - car experience was found at Volvo , where a young “ infotainment ” screen is imbed in the center console . Like the Audi Virtual Cockpit , some of your navigation is moved to behind the steering wheel , where you ’ll get comely directions alongside the rest of your digital dashboard information .
But unlike the Virtual Cockpit , in gain to all of that you still get this beautiful full - size screen in center of the dashboard , which is one of the biggest and pretty I ’ve ever get wind in a car ( it ’s very similar to what Nikola Tesla have , although theirs are bigger ) . We blithely tapped off at the touch screen , dreaming about what it will be like to get CarPlay on this giving , pretty screen , which will bechance for 2015 ( for a preview , here’sCarPlay on a Volvo Concept Estate ) . They ’ll alsosupport Android Auto .
Control Knob With Touchpad | Mercedes
Mercedes ’ new connected car system will be available on both its new C and S Class car for 2015 , and you could already also see how thesame organisation will support Apple CarPlay . A concealment that sticks up , way up , above the fascia almost looks like some kind of add - on , but it ’s designed that way to make it more seeable . Okay , go refuge ! The navigation was really very decent and although the voice mastery was a flake wavery , it got the job done . We found our way to a local gas station without too much weirdness .
The dirty , fingerprint - smeared secret about that alluring screenland ? you may’T TOUCH IT . Which means : two knob in the heart console . While we did n’t hate this one , we find it overly clunky . you’re able to either navigate through the screen using the clickwheel assure on the bottom , like Audi , or a form of Magic Mouse - esque gimmick that sits above it . This was just silly . Again , the tactile feedback of the wheel is is nice , but why ca n’t we just bear on the filmdom , Mercedes ?
IntelliLink/MyLink | GMC/Chevrolet
know by a two different names depending on which form of car you ’re in , Chevy ’s MyLink / GMC ’s IntelliLink has a bunch of perfumed features that boosts it above many of the other , fancier systems . First of all GMC can sour your car into a wireless fidelity hot dapple , meaning passenger can get online ( you catch ta buy a data plan , of course ) .
But it also means that your railroad car can download software updates for itself . I ’m approximate update some of the other cable car might expect a stumble to the dealer . The other peachy thing GMC is doing is instal fomite - to - fomite communication in every car — an important first footprint towards liberty .
Beyond that , I was able to easily pair my iPhone with the car ( no downloading of apps take , just Bluetooth ) and practice sending and receive text messages . One funny quirk is that you have to use their predetermined responses , because , you recognize , you would n’t need to be too distracted . The design here was n’t overly sophisticated but this organization is standard on all 2015 models , which show how committed GMC / Chevy is to the applied science .
The Others
There were two new systems announced this calendar week which we did not get to test . First was theJustDrive appby Jaguar Land Rover which will allow drivers to usee voice control within their cars ’ InControl system to access their own apps work force - free . And second wasHondaLink , which turns your earphone into a “ digital hub ” for your car . I afterward found out it need four apps ( one of which was $ 60 ) and a particular HDMI to lightning cable that cost $ 100 .
Aftermarket Options
I say at the outset of the article that there ’s no mode to get CarPlay in a brand - new automobile today . Well , that ’s not precisely true . There are two aftermarket car stereoscopic picture options you could set up that play nice with CarPlay : Alpine ’s iLX-007andPioneer ’s AVIC - X8000NEX .
Both of these can run CarPlay in much the same means we saw it incorporate into the Hyundai . They ’ll cost you ( $ 800 to $ 1400 , plus initiation ) and as Montoya pointed out to me you have to occupy about these unit getting stolen , just like you would any high - end stereo system system . If that ’s deserving the risk to you , and you ’ve just got ta have a machine-accessible elevator car now , place in one of these systems for your current clunker might be the direction to go .
Which brings up another interesting point that Montoya and I chatted about as we left the floor : Will we someday opt our auto based on how well they integrate with our favored operating scheme , which are rapidly becoming like “ modus vivendi dashboard ” across all our technology ?
Maybe . But the bigger issue tower is that these companies are trying to add too many features to the driving experience . The response is really to set out removing what we can do behind the wheel . “ There is such a thing as cognitive overload , and we ’re already maxing out the amount of things we can work , ” says Montoya . “ A destiny of us are crappy driver as is . ”
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