Smartphones drive next connectivity wave in auto infotainment

Automotive infotainment systems, the blend of entertainment and information systems in automobiles, have improved the driver experience by leaps and bounds over the last decade. An infotainment system includes in-vehicle navigation, audio, video and Internet, as well as embedded and mobile-navigation systems, telematics systems and video systems. All of these systems have helped to increase driver productivity, improve routing and scheduling and reduce operating costs, driving demand for automobiles equipped with these features.  In fact, the global automotive-infotainment system market is poised for major growth as shipments of connected vehicles are expected to grow to more than 85 million units in 2019 from 9 million in 2013, according to ABI Research.

Analysts expect innovations in the human-machine interface, including connected navigation, multimedia streaming, social media and in-car Wi-Fi hotpots, to have the greatest impact on the user experience. These developments will be powered by advanced connectivity, which is the lifeblood of the infotainment system.

“Telematics connections are the most important as it allows for a variety of connect-car services and applications,” said Egil Juliussen, Ph.D., and Director Research, Infotainment & ADAS, IHS Automotive, Minnetonka, Minnesota.  

Indeed, the connected car is moving to LTE (long-term evolution) technology in the next five years to future-proof the car for at least the next decade and to support the high-bandwidth applications and content to come. Today, the largest connectivity segment is the hands-free interface equipped with Bluetooth technology for music and smartphone use. The hands-free interface will dominate through 2016 when shipments of connected cars with this technology will top out at approximately 27 million, according to IHS Automotive. By 2020, however, nearly 33 million connected cars will ship with a hybrid blend of an embedded modem and smartphone connection that can support all of the major automotive infotainment trends — embedded navigation systems, telematics, branded/premium audio, but most of all, the integration of the smartphone in vehicles.

 “The automotive market tends to follow what’s happening in the consumer electronics market and so if something proves popular outside the car then car makers will consider integrating into new models. This is essentially what happened with smartphones,” said Filomena Berardi, senior analyst at ABI Research, Wellingborough, United Kingdom.

A growing number of manufacturers are incorporating the smartphone in the head-unit of a vehicle using device-interoperability standards that offers integration between a smartphone and a car's infotainment system. These standards include MirrorLink, which allows the car’s A/V receiver to display the screen on the smartphone and interact with apps installed on the phone, as well as Apple’s CarPlay and Google Android’s Auto. They were developed to enable car buyers to use their smartphone apps with less driver-distraction issues. Analysts consider smartphone app integration as an emerging trend that will result in having most new cars equipped with the technology by 2020. 

Even though smartphone navigation apps have grown in popularity, manufacturers will continue to install embedded navigation systems, according to Juliussen.

To improve the driving experience, another major human-machine interface concept that is beginning to surface is the use of wearables, said Berardi, citing Nissan’s Nismo Watch as an example. Nismo Watch is the first-of-its-kind smartwatch technology that quantifies the connection between car and driver. Using a Bluetooth low-energy connection, the watch gathers telemetry data from the car, including speed and fuel consumption, and will show drivers their track performance. Nismo also monitors driver health, such as heart rate.

But while all of these neat applications emerge, traditional automotive infotainment applications are still in vogue. Branded and premium audio systems continue to grow steadily as more mid-range and even entry-level systems are equipped with better-sounding audio, Juliussen said.

By Ismini Scouras