bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Starting in 2021, millions of cars globally may have media displays powered by Google’s Android OS. Google is partnering with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, which sells more cars than any other carmaker collective, to build the operating system behind the entertainment and GPS systems. These new systems will offer apps through the Play Store, navigation through Google Maps, and voice commands via Google Assistant.

“In the future, the Google Assistant, which employs Google’s leading AI technology, can become the main way customers interact with their vehicles, hands-free,” Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi’s Global VP of connected vehicles Kal Mos said in a statement.

Last year, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance sold 10.6 million cars worldwide, and it sold 5.54 million vehicles by June 30th this year, so we might expect similar numbers for 2018. Android won’t arrive on these branded cars for three more years, so the total number of vehicles Google ultimately brings Android to could shift considerably. The alliance estimates it will sell more than 14 million cars in 2022.AUTOMAKERS HESITATED TO GIVE TECH GIANTS LIKE GOOGLE ACCESS TO USER DATAAs The Wall Street Journal notes, Google has been trying to get into the car space for over a decade. Its efforts have somewhat been hindered because auto companies view Google and other tech giants as potential competitors who may mine user data for profit. Many automakers like Mercedes-Benz and BMW prefer to create their own proprietary GPS systems rather than let companies like Google in, but they have come across difficulties streamlining the technology.

Still, considering a lot of drivers just mount their phones on the dash and use Google Maps and Waze to navigate traffic, the popularity of these apps over car company systems is already there. Google also offers its Android OS and services like Android Auto for free, which is expected to make the transition easier. At its I/O developer conference earlier this year, Google and Volvo showed off a 2020 model year XC40 that runs Android Auto natively, with Volvo’s Sensus skin over Android Pie. On the user’s end, they will be prompted to give Google permission to collect and analyze data through its apps, according to the WSJ.

It’s not going to be all Google, however. The systems will still be compatible with mobile devices running other operating systems like Apple’s CarPlay, so it looks like automakers are still keeping their options open.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/18/1...bishi-alliance

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Yep. Nissan is the first in that group to integrate Android Auto:
https://www.leftlanenews.com/renault...t-systems.html

And more on why this is very relevant:
https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/6/9...e-android-auto

This certainly makes me feel as if the prerequisite for me buying any Nissan, Mitsubishi or Renault (assuming they eventually sell here) going forward would involve a look at the full electrical wiring TSRM for a given vehicle. I'd want to study it carefully to better understand how to remove or disable any data send-receive functions from wherever the dash CPU and cellular antenna and transceiver are located in the vehicle.

Such functions are not necessary for the normal function and on-road operation of a vehicle... so if I felt particularly compelled to purchase a vehicle running this system one of the first things I would do is go over those electrical schematics and simply cripple the system's ability to send or receive data. It would be very interesting to see what other normal functions might be affected by doing so.

I suppose this also means that some future car choices mean allowing for data collection or deliberately crippling these systems from sending and receiving data and thus threatening the warranty on a brand new vehicle.

At the very least I'd just never pair a phone with the system or use the on-board map functions. Of course there would still be plenty of data collected even by avoiding those for the life of the vehicle.

It's rather fascinating today that the biggest commodity of all is user data rather than simply loyal repeat customers and new customers.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

the author of that 3 year old theverge article is paranoid and living in the past. i'm sure they walk around with the phone in airplane mode and location services turned off all the time, making the phone effectively useless except for carrier texts and phonecalls.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

A whole new frontier