Toyota Teams with Ford and Livio for Smartphone App Integration

Ford said on Monday (4 January, 2015) a “first wave of automakers and industry suppliers – led by Toyota – is adopting its SmartDeviceLink software, claiming it was “a huge step toward giving consumers more choice in how they connect and control their smartphone apps on the road”. SmartDeviceLink is Ford’s software platform for facilitating communication between handheld device applications and a vehicle’s on-board infotainment software (in this case, Ford’s Sync and Toyota’s Entune).

SmartDeviceLink allows drivers to open apps on their phone using voice commands, buttons on the steering wheel, or the display’s touch screen.

Early adopters also include suppliers QNX Software Systems – which supplies the operating system for Ford’s Sync 3 – and UIEvolution.

Adoption of SDL by Toyota (and others) is seen as a win for automakers who want to keep the development of these systems in the hands of auto manufacturers, rather than letting it fall to tech companies whose primary focus is outside of the automotive realm. According to CNET, Honda, Subaru, Mazda and PSA Peugeot Citroen are studying the possibility of adding SmartDeviceLink capability to their cars, as well. Ford and Fiat Chrysler both announced today that CarPlay and Android Auto support will be added to select 2016 and 2017 vehicles, singling out Toyota as the only top five automaker to hold out on Apple’s and Google’s software.

The open source project is managed by Livio, a software integration company which Ford acquired in 2013. Popular music apps such as Spotify and iHeartRadio, information apps including AccuWeather and Major League Baseball, retail apps such as Domino’s, and a growing list of apps from around the world are already available for Ford AppLink users. The carmaker expects many companies to share its view and join the collaboration, he said. At the same time, if more automakers apply SDL, app developers can develop apps which are compatible with multiple automakers’ telematics systems at one time, meaning more apps available to customers in a shorter development time. QNX plans to integrate SmartDeviceLink into its QNX CAR platform for infotainment, which supports a wide variety of OEM systems.

AppLink is available on more than 5 million Ford vehicles globally and is expected to reach 28 million more vehicles by 2020 with plans to spread to new markets around the world.