Amazon Alexa is everywhere. At CES 2017, Amazon’s virtual assistant was featured in everything from refrigerators to cameras to even dancing robots, but the most interesting application for us came in the automotive space. Both Ford and Volkswagen announced Alexa connectivity at the colossal event, but as with most things in the car tech field, it didn’t stop there.
On Wednesday, September 27, BMW confirmed that Alexa will be coming to BMW and Mini vehicles in the U.S., U.K., and Germany for the 2018 model year. The system will integrate far-field microphones for superior speech recognition, and Alexa’s visual components will be displayed on the vehicle’s infotainment system. Much like with Amazon’s family of Echo speakers, Alexa will be able to fetch weather data, deliver current news, interface with smart home products, and work with various third-party programs through voice commands. We like the Jeopardy and Campbell’s Kitchen apps, personally.
“By making this step of integrating Alexa into our models from mid-2018, BMW and Mini will form a more intrinsic part of our customers’ digital lifestyles,” Dieter May, senior vice president of Digital Services at BMW, said in a statement. “Voice control first featured in BMW Group cars many years ago, and we are now enhancing its functionality by adding a digital ecosystem, which will open up all sorts of new possibilities that customers can access quickly, easily and safely from their car.”
The Alexa announcement is an interesting one because it gives Amazon much more credibility as a competitor to smartphone projection systems like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. BMW has resisted integrating Android Auto into its vehicles thus far, however, Apple CarPlay is currently offered on many 2017 BMW models (read the full list here).
Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time Amazon Alexa and BMW have joined forces. The two paired up for the BMW Connected app in 2016, which allowed drivers to lock vehicle doors, activate climate control, check the status of their windows, monitor their fuel tank, and more through their smartphone. Putting these skills directly inside the vehicle could be a game-changer for in-car voice command systems, and we can’t wait to see what else Alexa can do on four wheels.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.