Cars as a platform for technology

Phones got a lot smarter in the last 10 years – now its time for cars.  Dumb Feature Cars, will become smartcars in the next 2 years.   I say Cars will become a Platform for Technology, because there are so many options.  From self driving, to touch wheels, to sensors that have yet to become developed.

 

Lets consider cars the most beautiful and fast computer that happen to sit in – what would you want it to do.  Let’s go beyond satellite radio and an iphone dock.   Mini is making some great strides, apple too with CarPlay, and lets not forget Tesla who has the largest display of any manufacturer and their system is a full operating system, not just an entertainment kiosk.

The larger trend here is that the internet of things will continue to innovate on top of analog machines, and technology ecosystems will continue to overlap – leading to some exciting user experiences and great uses of contextual data. 

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Why Apple’s Carplay Matters to the Auto Industry

Carplay is going to be BIG.   While apple could have simply make Cars be more compatible with iPhones, they took it a step further, and integrated with cars.  This is one of the first places we are starting to see an S curve in cars shifting from hardware & mechanics to software. 

My personal hypothesis is that most cars are similar enough – antilock breaks, power steering, top speeds, safety, etc.  So the other place they can go for points of differentiation is style or software.  This represents a new era of digital luxury in something that has always been very analog with digital touches.

I will continue to write about this in a few different posts – but this will really change things.

We are starting to see that networks are overlapping with other networks – which is an entirely new level of contextual awareness for machines.  Its the start of something really new.

It brings up some really interesting smaller and big questions including:

1. Will you choose a car based off of what carrier it has?
2. Will you service your car at an apple store or your local garage ?
3. How do you manage multiple drivers?
4.Are you allowed to download while driving?
5. What does this mean for privacy?
6. Could apps move into things that are essential car functions such as AC or performance?
7. Who would have thought Google & Apple would be large players in the auto market?
8.The idea of Cars as a platform, not a thing. 

-pd