With
Hyundai’s announcement yesterday that it’s the first automaker to make Android Auto
available on a production vehicle, owners of Android devices will be able to
access aspects of the mobile operating system such as music, mapping and
messaging while behind the wheel. Android Auto is launching on 2015 Sonata models
with navigation and is controlled through the car’s in-dash screen, steering-wheel
controls and voice-recognition system.
While Hyundai said that Android Auto
eventually will be featured on most of the automaker’s vehicles and will be
installed at the factory, owners of existing 2015 Sonatas with nav can add it
via a software update free of charge by Hyundai dealers. The update
takes about 45 minutes and can be performed during, say, an oil change or other
routine maintenance, according to Miles Johnson, manager of Connected Care
Publicity for Hyundai.
Later this summer, owners will be able to download the update onto a USB memory
drive via a Hyundai
website and install it themselves.
While
Ford’s Sync system pioneered the concept of USB-based infotainment updates and
Tesla raised the bar by issuing routine over-the-air software updates for its
Model S to improve the car long after it left the showroom, Hyundai is the first to add
a third-party infotainment platform like Android Auto this way. For Android
Auto to work in the 2015 Sonata,
a device needs Android’s 5.0 Lollipop operating system or later and an Android
Auto companion app installed.
The
device also has to be connected via a micro USB cable to the car’s USB port,
but can use Bluetooth for wireless data transfer. The first time an Android
device is plugged into the Sonata’s USB
port when the car is parked and after the Android Auto software has been
installed, the owner will be prompted to download the companion app.
Hyundai said that Android
Auto will deliver convenience as well as safety to drivers by keeping them from
using their handheld devices. The automaker noted that the screen of a
connected device is locked out “so drivers are not tempted to look down and
interact with their phones directly while Android Auto is in use.”
Hyundai added that “users of
Android Auto will instantly recognize familiar Android phone applications, such
as Google GOOGL -0.2% Maps, Google Now, messaging, phone calling and Google
Play Music” when using the feature. It added that “Android Auto also will offer
many popular third-party audio apps that owners have on their phones, including
iHeartRadio, Spotify, TuneIn, NPR, Stitcher, Skype, TextMe and many more.”
Android
Auto and Apple CarPlay, a similar device-integration platform for iOS, were
announced more than a year ago. Both Google and Apple AAPL -0.47% said that the
platforms would appear in cars by the end of 2014 but have run into road blocks
that have delayed their introduction.
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