How Apps are Changing the Driving Experience
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Today, you find mobile apps for almost everything, but not so much for driving and driving-related purposes. For instance, the Google’s in-car system popularly known as Android Auto comes pre-installed in most vehicles. Drivers can use the app to accomplish a wide range of activities while using the car.
There is no doubt that mobile apps are rapidly changing the world that we are living in from how people interact with each other to how they operate their cars. The driving mobile apps have taken into consideration strategic approaches, following the changes and updates in the vehicle industry of different countries, penetrating wider markets where the need for these sort of apps is present. One way to reach this international exposure is through localizing mobile apps.
If you have never used a mobile app to enhance your driving experience, you might be asking yourself how this is even possible. Well, we have compiled useful information on how mobile phone applications are changing the driving experience and why everyone should be prepared to embrace the new wave of change in the motor vehicle industry.
Autonomous Technology is Accelerating
Most people tend to associate autonomous driving with Tesla and futuristic concept cars that haven’t been developed yet. However, this is no longer the case since most of the leading auto manufacturers such as Toyota, Nissan, and Honda are already showing off their latest car models that incorporate autonomous technology into their production models.
This means that the era in which you will be completely in charge of your vehicle is quickly fading away. Nissan has already declared 2019 as a year when they look forward to producing numerous car models that incorporate autonomous technology. This technology allows most of the cars to operate autonomously during single-lane driving on the highway.
Mobile Apps Fight Distracted Driving
Even though distracted driving is not a new threat, it is real, and it continues to grow every day. People get hurt while others lose their lives due to road accidents that are directly related to distracted driving. It is no secret that our cell phones play a significant role in the increase of distracted driving accidents.
However, what most people don’t know is that many developers who work in a mobile app development company have also created mobile apps improving the driving experience, giving power to your smartphone and making it a tool that fights distracted driving rather than cause it. Distracted driving apps incentivize safe driving or even block you from using your mobile phone while driving to ensure that you keep your attention off your mobile phone and on the road.
Some Cars Allow Your Smartphone to Interface with Them
Motor vehicle manufacturers also seem to be aware of the fact that people are accustomed to taking their content with them wherever they go - whether it’s their music, podcasts, access to prime time news or even social media.
This is the primary reason why some cars interface with smartphones allowing drivers to stream their favorite music from their mobile phones. Some auto manufacturers have taken it a step further and are now collaborating with other partners such as Spotify, The New York Times, Weather Channel, and Fox Sports to build unique apps that offer the drivers much more freedom.
The Changing Face of Uber Apps
Uber is among the top mobile apps changing the driving experience in the modern world. The platform has attracted over three million drivers who spend an average 8.5 million hours logged into the company’s mobile app.
In fact, Uber has become an essential aspect of the gig economy all over the world. The Uber app serves as the drivers’ workplace, and the company has been making changes on the app to address the drivers’ needs promptly.
Uber recognizes the fact that drivers are at the heart of its service hence the need to focus on the group of people that help the company realize growth. Over the past six months, Uber has launched nearly 40 new features that are primarily designed to improve the driving experience.
The company’s Driver app sits at the center of the driver experience. In fact, the latest version of the driver app was built for drivers, with drivers and it is purely designed to meet the various needs of the drivers at every moment of the trip.
There’s An App for Every Driving Experience
It is good to mention that the mobile apps are used across the motor vehicle industry, even by truck drivers. In fact, the increasing use of mobile apps in the auto industry has led to a sudden increase in the number of tracking apps available to truck drivers.
At least 90% of truck drivers carry at least one mobile device that has a tracking device installed on it. Most large fleets have invested heavily in mobile apps to enhance their service delivery.
For instance, Zonar, a fleet management technology, and telematics company recently introduced the FieldView app that allows managers to keep track of drivers and vehicles that are in the field even when they are out of office. There are lots of apps that can be categorized into fleet focus, freight focus, and driver focus apps.
How Driverless Cars and Mobile Apps Will Go Hand in Hand
The car manufacture industry is about to witness a significant innovation with Google, Uber, and Tesla vying to launch the first ever consumer self driving car. However, there is much more to it than just moving around.
Once these vehicles come into full swing, we might forget the steering wheel since the new command center of the car will become a smartphone. The driverless car will offer safer and more convenient driving experiences, but the big question is; how will these driverless cars and smartphone apps integrate?
This will not be something new since we are already witnessing how smartphones integrate more deeply with various cars through services such as the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Some manufacturers such as Hyundai are currently providing drivers with remote car controls through mobile apps, and this technology will only become better with the implementation of the driverless cars.
Conclusion
The innovation that app development offers will definitely give driving that futuristic edge that we once only saw in movies and increase the value of cars to something much more than just a transportation machine.
Sources:
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/04/uber-driver-app-revamp/557117/
https://www.truckinginfo.com/157422/theres-an-app-for-that
https://www.ciklum.com/blog/how-driverless-cars-and-smartphone-apps-will-go-hand-in-hand/
