Chevrolet seems to be serious with digitizing cars. Why, the car manufacturer has announced the it’s adding Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to fourteen cars under GM’s 2016 line-up. This means the infotainment systems, even if still in their early stages, will be utilized and finally used as a common feature. While other companies charge more for such systems, Chevrolet is making the advanced smartphone connectivity a standard item.
If you are thinking of a getting a new car with a digital dashboard, consider getting a Chevrolet. The company is using two systems branded MyLink Infotainment in two sizes–a 7-inch and an 8-inch touchscreen. The one with a bigger display will be integrated with Android Auto or CarPlay and will have the usual features like FM radio. Unfortunately, there won’t be any native speech control or navigation upgrade option.
Connecting an Android phone to your Chevrolet phone is easy with Android Auto. This move by the car brand could make them more popular among those obsessed with their smartphones. You know, those people who can’t seem to part with their phones even when driving.
The 7-inch system will be offered with a factory-fit navigation option plus those basic features one needs in a dashboard. This version might come later though for Android Auto compared to the smaller model. As for the particular make of the cars Chevy will be installing the 7-inch MyLink Infotainment system with, there’s the 2016 Cruze, Camaro, Camaro Convertible, Malibu, Spark, Silverado, and Silverado HD.
The 8-inch system can be found in a total of thirteen models: Cruze, Corvette, Corvette Convertible, Camaro, Camaro Convertible, Colorado, Impala, Malibu, Silverado, Silverado HD, Suburban, Tahoe, and Volt. All cars accounted for more than 50% of the brand’s total sales worldwide last. Over 2.4 million Chevy vehicles were sold in 2014.
The rollout is described as aggressive but Chevrolet could be giving away to Android Auto or CarPlay but its own infotainment system is already good enough. It still needs a lot of improvements and the company is decided to get better, hoping to “set the bar for usability and interface”.
Android Auto and CarPlay don’t have connectivity with the car’s own systems yet but by 2016, expect the platforms to be widely used and fully integrated. Right now, Chevrolet’s system features direct route into the car’s own hardware to allow music streaming or checking a route home or track distance traveled and engine speed.
This week at the Google I/O, Google is expected to discuss Android Auto. It could be related to the Brillo OS for the Internet of Things we featured earlier. We’ll see.
VIA: SlashGear
How does the car recurve updates? Through Wi-Fi? User flash drive? Dealership? Just curious.