Google’s Android operating system — used on phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One — has taken over the world of mobile, and now it appears it may start to take over your car.
Hyundai and Kia have announced they will be installing Android AVN – short for audio video navigation – into all future cars from next year, either as a pre-installed system or as an optional upgrade. This is according to South Korean news outlet ET News, which also claims the system will be called UVO 2.0.
The Android AVN system will debut in the new Hyundai Genesis and the Kia Soul family wagon, both of which are going on sale later this year.
“Hyundai & Kia will install the Android AVN system, which is linked to all the smartphone functions, and provides its own Appstore and communication-based telematics service, in the All New Soul and the New Genesis in earnest,” an industry insider said.
“All new cars released next year will have this system by default or as an option”, the insider added.
UVO 2.0 will let drivers to pair up their car with an Android tablet and smartphone, allowing them to access email, navigation, entertainment and social networking and hands-free phone call functionality while on the move, though exact specifications have yet to be revealed.
Answers on a postcard for what the remote “telematics service” could entail.
No word on how much upgrading to UVO 2.0 would cost. We expect a couple of hundred bob or thereabouts, given how much navigations systems usually are.
Other car manufacturers are likely to follow suit, although some are already using their own bespoke systems – Audi Connect and BMW ConnectedDrive, for instance – or integrating Apple’s iOS used on the iPhone and iPad like in the new Mini.
Source: ET News via Android Authority
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