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Honda Boosts iOS Car Integration with New HondaLink Services for 2014 Civic, 2015 Fit

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Following last week's announcement of Siri "Eyes Free" integration for select Honda and Acura vehicles, Honda today held a Google Hangout to announce even deeper integration for the 2014 Honda Civic and 2015 Honda Fit.

The new Civic, which goes on sale tomorrow, and the upcoming Fit, which launches early next year, will offer an all-new Display Audio interface featuring a 7-inch touchscreen that will be familiar to smartphone users, offering easy access to a variety of features.
Offering one of the largest touchscreens in its class, Display Audio uses the familiar pinch, swipe and tap functionality of a smartphone to access audio, phonebook, media, vehicle information and available navigation features.

Icons resembling smartphone apps are displayed on a 7-inch, high-definition, capacitive touchscreen, making the interface intuitive and easy to use.
Click to expand...
hondalink_ios.jpg
Leveraging the large touchscreen display, new HondaLink apps for iOS will allow users to seamlessly connect their iPhone 5, 5s, or 5c to vehicle systems for accessing online content. The suite consists of four iOS apps now available:
- Connect App - Provides convenient access for many services including location searches, local weather, messaging, Maintenance Minder alerts, service scheduling by phone, and access to the Owners Guide. Users can tap for weather updates and store favorite destinations for quick routing with the Navigation app.

- Navigation App - For the first time Honda is offering a comprehensive cloud-based navigation app for purchase [$59.99 in the App Store] that includes 3D mapping and continuously updated traffic information. As the first navigation app developed by an automaker with mapping data provided by HERE, a Nokia business, this app offers a variety of location search options including search by point of interest, text search, or previous locations. Routes can be pre-planned on a smartphone and will display on the vehicle's touchscreen. Turn-by-turn routing guidance is available through the vehicle's audio system as well.

- Aha App - provides access to an extensive and diverse selection of audio content across multiple genres and demographics, plus featured new stations, Internet radio, podcasts, audiobooks, news, Twitter and Facebook updates and nearby location listings for restaurants, coffee houses, hotels, weather, parks, and gas stations. Users can tap to personalize stations or add favorites via smartphone or directly through the Display Audio interface.

- Launcher App - Finds and organizes Honda-approved 3rd party apps so they can be quickly integrated into the Display Audio system. Approved apps can be found through the Launcher and shown on the Display Audio screen for easy access.
Click to expand...
Beyond the new HondaLink features, the Civic and Fit with Display Audio will also be the first Honda vehicles to have factory installed support for Siri Eyes Free, with the compatibility for 2013-2014 Honda Accord and 2013 Acura RDX and ILX models announced last week arriving as a dealer installed accessory.

Honda's Google Hangout offering more information on iOS integration with the new Civic and Fit is archived here.

Article Link: Honda Boosts iOS Car Integration with New HondaLink Services for 2014 Civic, 2015 Fit
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/03/honda-boosts-ios-car-integration-with-new-hondalink-services-for-2014-civic-2015-fit/
nepalisherpa

nepalisherpa

macrumors 68020
Aug 15, 2011
2,258
1,330
USA
If 3rd party head-unit manufacturers got in on this then we wouldn't need to buy a brand new car to use this feature. :)
 
Lapidus

Lapidus

macrumors regular
May 14, 2012
202
174
I guess building my iPad in the car was still te best option to have 'iOS in the car'
ios-car.jpg
 
Jaro65

Jaro65

macrumors 68040
Mar 27, 2009
3,822
926
Seattle, WA
I wonder how they intend to deliver any future updates to this software. It would be nice if the users could download the update on an iPhone, connect the iPhone to the head unit, and then proceed with the update.
 
K

kwikdeth

macrumors 65816
Feb 25, 2003
1,141
1,714
Tempe, AZ
another closed system that will probably have zero API access for 3rd party developers. in other words, more of the same.
 
Tankmaze

Tankmaze

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2012
1,707
351
nepalisherpa said:
If 3rd party head-unit manufacturers got in on this then we wouldn't need to buy a brand new car to use this feature. :)
Click to expand...

I agree, it isnt that hard I assume. Just like "ipod compatible" in every 3rd party head unit.
 
HiRez

HiRez

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
6,250
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SockRolid said:
"Take on me..."
Click to expand...
I would immediately fire whoever came up with that name.

Anyway, this looks kind of cool (especially since my wife may be due for a new Civic next year), but it still seems like kind of a confusing system/interface. I wish Apple would make their own standard car UI instead of letting the car manufacturers do it ham-handedly and then trying to awkwardly integrate iOS with it.
 
pgiguere1

pgiguere1

macrumors 68020
May 28, 2009
2,167
1,200
Montreal, Canada
Meh, a proprietary solution like this will never have the kind of ecosystem something like iOS in the car could have, and I bet it will be less intuitive/smooth too, not to mention software likely won't be updated that much since it'll be limited by your car's hardware.

I'd much rather see the exact same iOS integration on every car with updates coming for free with every new iOS version, but obviously Honda would rather sell you a $60 map pack with even less POI data than Apple Maps.
 
N

ninjadex

macrumors 6502
Jun 1, 2004
328
215
This is all somewhat confusing at this point, but I don't believe this is true 'iOS in the Car'. It seems to be some sort of custom Honda solution, based around iOS apps that they provide. That's way different than what Apple showed at WWDC.
 
D

DTphonehome

macrumors 68000
Apr 4, 2003
1,914
3,377
NYC
I knew automakers wouldn't go for the full "iOS 7 in the Car" feature. It's too integrated and overrides their own crappy UI with a nice, useful Apple interface.
 
HiRez

HiRez

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
6,250
2,576
Western US
bpcookson said:
SIXTY dollars for a navigation app? WHAT?!
Click to expand...

Sounds like a lot, but just a few years ago, car manufacturers were routinely charging an additional $1.5K to $2.5K for a crappy in-dash screen that did nothing but navigation, with really stale/sketchy map data. And map data had to be updated through a disc, which you could get from your dealer for several hundred dollars. So, progress.
 
mdelvecchio

mdelvecchio

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2010
3,151
1,149
MacRumors said:
- Navigation App – For the first time Honda is offering a comprehensive cloud-based navigation app for purchase [$59.99 in the App Store] that includes 3D mapping and continuously updated traffic information. As the first navigation app developed by an automaker with mapping data provided by HERE, a Nokia business, this app offers a variety of location search options including search by point of interest, text search, or previous locations. Routes can be pre-planned on a smartphone and will display on the vehicle’s touchscreen. Turn-by-turn routing guidance is available through the vehicle’s audio system as well.
Click to expand...

...so basically it does everything the built-in maps and google maps does? i dont get this. i have the Pioneer App Radio which tries to do something similar, using its own apps and third-party apps...but none of them do better than what iOS does. id so prefer to be able to port out my phone's display to the touchscreen (which can be done if jailbreaking the AppRadio).

my impression is apple's "iOS in the car" initiative will allow this natively -- apple maps, music, etc.

----------
nepalisherpa said:
If 3rd party head-unit manufacturers got in on this then we wouldn't need to buy a brand new car to use this feature. :)
Click to expand...

see the Pioneer AppRadio -- it does exactly this. i use it...but you'll find its not nearly as slick and polished as iOS implementations.

----------
ninjadex said:
This is all somewhat confusing at this point, but I don't believe this is true 'iOS in the Car'. It seems to be some sort of custom Honda solution, based around iOS apps that they provide. That's way different than what Apple showed at WWDC.
Click to expand...

correct. this is a work-around hack, similar to Pioneer's AppRadio head units. it works...kinda. lots of things dont work as expected or very well.
 
A

alent1234

macrumors 603
Jun 19, 2009
5,688
170
chances are that it has maps stores on local storage


mdelvecchio said:
...so basically it does everything the built-in maps and google maps does? i dont get this. i have the Pioneer App Radio which tries to do something similar, using its own apps and third-party apps...but none of them do better than what iOS does. id so prefer to be able to port out my phone's display to the touchscreen (which can be done if jailbreaking the AppRadio).

my impression is apple's "iOS in the car" initiative will allow this natively -- apple maps, music, etc.

----------



see the Pioneer AppRadio -- it does exactly this. i use it...but you'll find its not nearly as slick and polished as iOS implementations.

----------



correct. this is a work-around hack, similar to Pioneer's AppRadio head units. it works...kinda. lots of things dont work as expected or very well.
Click to expand...
 
pgiguere1

pgiguere1

macrumors 68020
May 28, 2009
2,167
1,200
Montreal, Canada
mdelvecchio said:
...so basically it does everything the built-in maps and google maps does? i dont get this.
Click to expand...

Only Honda has control of the apps that can be shown on your dash screen, so they're basically using this to sell you the privilege of displaying maps on that screen for $60.

That's something iOS in the car would have done for free, and probably with a much better UI.

It seems like they're competing with iOS in the car instead of adopting it. This is very disappointing news from a consumer perspective.
 
inkswamp

inkswamp

macrumors 68030
Jan 26, 2003
2,953
1,278
arian19 said:
Hosting a Google hangout to reveal an iOS integration for there cars... weird.
Click to expand...

Not weird at all. Most people don't know about the whole Apple-Google schism, and most probably wouldn't care about it even if they did.
 
K

k2director

macrumors regular
Jan 2, 2006
144
260
Looks lame

Yet another car manufacturer trying to reinvent a wheel that Apple and Google have already done much better.

Does Honda really think I want to use their crappy navigation app over Apple's? I can talk to Apple Maps. I can press one button on the phone (or steering wheel) and say "Give me directions to....". I can say "What's my ETA?" I can say "Cancel directions." Also, next year, when Apple Maps take another jump, I'm likely to be able to speak more sophisticated commands to the mapping program. Also, I can do all of this through a bluetooth connection, instead of having to physically plug the phone in.

Can Honda's app keep up with that? Of course not. So they stupidly build their strategy on a custom app that costs $60, and will never match what I already get for free with my phone.

Terrible. They should have supported iOS in the Car via a Bluetooth connection. Problem solved (at least for iOS users).
 
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