Apple, Google bring smartphone functions to car dashboards - Detroit Free Press
Apple, Google bring smartphone functions to car dashboards With the 2016 model year, Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto will turn cars as affordable as a base model Chevy Spark into rolling robotic assistants that give directions to nearby... com/1EDyQGt Playing deejay with voice commands will get easier for more Americans this fall as some best-selling cars get updated with software that integrates smartphones into the dashboard. With the 2016 model year, Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto will turn cars as affordable as a base model Chevy Spark into rolling robotic assistants that give directions to nearby restaurants or play the latest hits with commands as simple... As with phones, voice-activated car technologies don’t always work as intended, bringing up inaccurate directions or failing to open an app, for example. Both CarPlay and Android Auto should give drivers more time to keep their eyes on the road compared with the automakers’ own voice systems, which can require multiple steps and looking at on-screen menus. “Anything that takes your attention away from the task of driving is not something you want to engage in,” said Kathy Lane, a spokeswoman for the National Safety Council, a nonprofit organization created by Congress to promote safety. Neither system has been tested yet by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, says spokesman Russ Rader. Source: www.freep.com
