The automotive sector is at a turning point in its history for many reasons. Tesla is an example of all that is changing, even penetrating markets as consolidated as Germany, where it has its own factory, and also in Europe, where it seems that it plans to create another, more precisely in Valence. the electric carand the strong commitment made by Europe, but also the United States and a large part of Asia, is the protagonist of the conversion of one of the largest industries on the planetwhich particularly affects countries like Europe, which devote a large part of their GDP to automotive companies.
But the total conversion of the parking lot from thermal cars to electric cars (or with other equally less polluting engines) is something that will take decades. Although thermal cars will no longer be sold after 2035, it will still take at least 15 years, if there is no delay, before the general circulation of this type of vehicle is prohibited.
What won’t take that long is massive deployment of connected cars. Not self-driving cars, but connected cars, cars with internet access that can be controlled or monitored remotely. And this is where manufacturers have to change the paradigm, not so much because of the operating system that is integrated into cars, but because of the way it relates to our mobiles.
Apps are crucial
A few days ago Apple announced the Vision Pro, their new space computing system, as they called it. It is speculated that this could be the next leap forward in personal computing.going from cellphones to glasses as we went from desktops to laptops and from them to cellphones.
Even if it did, a full leap would be decades away, and in the meantimesmartphones will continue to be the centerpiece of our connected lives. From there, we got used to communicating, having fun, flirting, working, and even controlling other devices, such as appliances, the clock, or the car.
And this is where the big brands in the automotive sector come into play. The increase in car prices that has occurred in recent years, due to inflation, European regulations and other reasons, has led To Users, logically, demand more and more, since they will have to pay more. This means that the vast majority of vehicles are already compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but the next level is already experienced in electric cars. Even the Dacia Spring, the cheapest of them, has an application that allows you to control certain settings from your phone, without having to be near the car.
As has happened with smartwatches, When you get used to something that makes your life easier, you don’t want to go back.. Many automotive brands, such as Tesla, have found that integrating cellphones into cars is something that can greatly improve the user experience. Thanks to this we can know where our car is, how much fuel or energy it has, the autonomy and much more.
What features are essential
Going from a normal car to a connected car looks like what the smartphone world has seen in the first decade of this year. With all, Connecting the car to the mobile opens up a world of possibilities that surely many drivers will end up wanting. We list the main ones:
- mobile is key: Not needing a physical key to open the car, thus eliminating the possibility of losing it, is attractive. Knowing that the car will open as you approach and close as you leave is so comfortable that once you get used to it, it’s easy not to want to back up.
- driver recognition: Many cars already have driving profiles, allowing you to change the position of the steering wheel, mirrors or seat. Doing this just by detecting the mobile is much more convenient.
- car position: Many vehicles already have a GPS for road navigation. Being able to know the location of a car from the mobile makes it possible to be sure of knowing where it is and, in the event of theft, of knowing where it is also.
- Air conditioner: Being able to turn on the air conditioning or heating before getting in the car is another benefit of having a well-designed mobile app.
- remote start: a little known option is to be able to start and stop the car remotely, perfect if you want to leave the vehicle to someone but without leaving the key.
- camera control: Most cars already include a camera system for driving. Being able to use these cameras as a security system is also something practical, especially when we park it in places that are not those we normally visit.
- electrical charge: In electric vehicles, or rechargeable hybrids, you can control the energy supply to the car, its power, the time of charging, the programming…
These functions can be supplemented by many others, such as the trunk opening to allow a courier to drop off a parcel at a given time, the power sound the horn (even speaking into a loudspeaker on certain models), limiting the maximum speed of the car…
Users will ask for more
As it begins to be considered normal for someone to be able to control certain car parameters from their mobile, more and more users will demand it and more and more brands will have to pull themselves together to offer something that their competitors will also offer. There the integration of mobile with the car will be one of the things to consider when buying a carsuch as design or autonomy.
The reason is simple: it makes life easier. In the case of electric cars more than in thermal ones because it even allows the vehicle to be rechargedchange the power of the network intended for it, program the said charge so that it takes place when the light is the cheapest…
As we can see, in the case of electric cars, in addition to being able to provide comfort for these types of applications allows us to save money, depending on the electricity tariff we have. This obviously applies to the charges that we carry out at home, or to the installations at work, but not to the charging stations that are scattered on the roads. But even there the application will allow us, for example, to see the state of the charge while we have a coffee away from the car.
Updates and APIs
As these mobile apps are software items, as they all are, one of the biggest benefits is that enhancements can be added over time, much like car operating systems can be added. This is an additional challenge for automotive brandswho will see how another front opens on which they must compete with rivals and be aware in terms of customer satisfaction.
Of course, companies that want it can make it a strong point of their business strategy, as is the case Tesla, which not only has one of the best mobile apps for cars today, but also an API. This API (Application programming interfaces or application programming interface) allows other developers to integrate the functionality of your official mobile app into other apps. For example, Tesla doesn’t have an app for Wear OS, but the API has allowed other people to create an unofficial one for Wear OS watches.
[El plan de Google para revolucionar tu próximo coche: el caballo de Troya que ya triunfó en los móviles]
Another interesting use case is that of Chippio, an electricity retailer that has integrated Tesla’s API into its electricity pricing application. In this way it is possible, from this application, to mark when the car is charged and to specify that this is only done at times when electricity is cheaper. Another case is that of Ford, which has partnered with the Spanish manufacturer HomyHub to allow you to open connected garages from the car, without the need for external remote controls.
A new battlefield
The automotive industry is a long-lived industry, with over a century behind it, but in that time it hasn’t changed much. Ford and Toyota changed the way cars were built at one point, but cars haven’t evolved as much as other things, like televisions or telephones.
The connected car seems to be the perfect excuse for this change, the one in which you can be much more aware of a vehicle thanks to the new functions and the inclusion of the Internet, something we have already seen in other devices in our day to day. Of course, it remains for another time to talk about the connectivity in these vehicles and how that supposes an additional expense, beyond subscription payments, since cars copy the worst of mobile phones.
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