The 2018 Toyota Camry is turning over a big leaf for the popular midsize sedan. Everyone seems to be talking about the huge power bump, sexy looks and other compelling features. What they might not know is another feature will have sweeping changes for the automotive industry: Linux.
Everyone likes to hate on car infotainment systems, me included. But there’s a chance the Camry will start a reform that will make the onboard tech more bearable, or maybe even downright enjoyable to use.
If you have a Toyota, you already know Entune. But the 3.0 version will be far different, because it uses Automotive Grade Linux (AGL).
Car guys might not be too familiar with Linux, and that’s okay. AGL isn’t like other vehicle operating systems, because it’s open-source – a hallmark that’s endeared Linux to quite a few tech nerds. Amazingly, no car has used AGL before.
Few other vehicles could spread AGL faster in the market. After all, the Camry racked up over 32,000 sales just this past May. It sells numbers in one month many other vehicles can’t accomplish in a year’s time.
Right now, everybody pretty much does their own thing when it comes to vehicle infotainment software. What AGL could do is provide a single platform most automakers would use. That would make developing apps for cars simpler.
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When you simplify the process for creating vehicle apps, and the apps can work on models from different brands, that can lead to better products. For example, one reason why iPhones have so many high-quality apps available for them is the sheer numbers of devices on the market. Developers will put more money, time, and effort into creating apps that can be used by a lot of people.
It isn’t known for sure what apps will be available for the 2018 Camry. AGL can run Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but Toyota isn’t saying if they’ll be available for the Camry.
Other automakers are on the AGL membership role., including Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Nissan,and Ford. As these and other companies jump on board, this unification would also speed up the development of connected cars.
Officials have said a greater number of connected cars could improve traffic flow, reduce accidents and help reroute vehicles in the event of construction or other hazards.
If you’ve used Ford’s Sync 3 infotainment system, you know it’s a huge improvement over the previous version. It uses a QNX operating system, which is a UNIX variant, kind of like AGL.
Ford loves touting how Sync 3 runs faster, because it does. The menus look better, the voice controls are way more intuitive, and it’s overall a far more modern, enjoyable thing to use.
In case you missed it, Google isn’t content to sit by and just watch this thing roll out. The tech giant has made it clear it wants to have a hand in everything automotive possible. The company plans to launch an infotainment system as well.
This Android-based platform will start appearing in Volvos and Audis within about two years.
The Camry is just the tip of the iceberg. Toyota is looking to use the AGL platform in other new vehicles. Lexus is getting in on the fun as well. That means most Toyota and Lexus vehicles by the end of the year will use AGL.
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