Posted Thursday, January 5, 2017 at 4:19pm
Ford and Toyota announced Wednesday that they are working with four other car companies to create industry standards for in-car apps, in a move that will likely help to block big tech companies like Apple and Google from having the final say on how motorists connect their devices to their vehicles.
The SmartDeviceLink Consortium, as the companies call it, currently consists of Ford, Toyota, Peugeot-Citroën, Mazda, Fuji Heavy Industries (a.k.a. Subaru), and Suzuki on the automotive OEM side. The group is working towards giving consumers better options as to how their smart devices will interact with their cars by developing an open-source software platform for future telematics. This could help simplify voice command systems and in-car screens, enabling car manufacturers to more easily implement car-smartphone apps for everyone involved.
