Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto will finally – after a number of false starts – hit the roads this year. In China, both those in-car systems will clash with Baidu’s upcoming CarLife.
Baidu says that CarLife is compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones. Three major car companies – Audi, Hyundai, and GM – attended the launch event, and Baidu says the three marques have committed to using CarLife in vehicles they sell in China (update: fixed an errant mention of CarPlay. I meant to write CarLife). There’s no release date yet.
Baidu’s CarLife will come with a range of Baidu services, incorporate free navigation, and support third-party apps, according to documents provided to Tech in Asia by the company.
Other details are still scarce at this point, but it’s clear that Baidu Maps, the company’s well-established mapping service and app, will be central to the car-based OS, providing not just navigation and real-time traffic alerts but also a huge database of restaurants, stores, and other points of interest across the country. The whole system will be tied together by voice-activated controls produced by Baidu, so that many tasks can be performed hands-free.
Most car-makers are terrible at software, so there’s a great deal of anticipation about how CarPlay and Android Auto will shake up the in-car experience. However, Android Auto will face issues in China due to virtually all Google services being blocked in the country; Apple’s CarPlay has yet to launch in the country.
See: Baidu just revealed a lot more about its smart bike, and it looks amazing
Editing by David Corbin
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