MyLink + iPhone = The future of in-car entertainment?

"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
10/06/2013 at 16:26 • Filed to: None

As I mentioned earlier, I bought an iPhone yesterday. A 5C in case you were curious. There's nothing really special about it, it's an iPhone.

However, when paired with MyLink in the Chevy Sonic it's a big deal.

I've already heaped praise on MyLink in the past. It's a great infotainment system: simple, intuitive, fast. MyLink is clearly designed for the younger generation, myself included, who don't really need an infotainment system to do that much. We have smartphones after all, what could an in car entertainment system do that the phone can't?

MyLink works well with phones, but I didn't get to experience how well until I got an iPhone.

Plug the iPhone into the USB, pair it with bluetooth, and suddenly MyLink goes from a nice infotainment system to what I think is a sign of things to come, and a good look into the future of incar entertainment.

MyLink features Smartphone Link: a menu option on the main page that allows for the car to run a series of apps via your phone. There are 4 apps for it currently: Pandora, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Bringgo.

Pandora works flawlessly. A simple interface comes up on the car's screen showing you the track playing with artwork, buttons to skip, thumbs up, thumbs down, pause, and a menu button for quick access to your stations. On Android it would occasional struggle to start up, but with the iPhone it's instant works every time. If you look at Pandora on the phone while running through MyLink, it just says 'Accessory Mode' with a black screen.

TuneIn and Stitcher are both radio apps; TuneIn lets you listen to radio stations all over the world while Stitcher is basically Pandora for podcasts. Neither are really my thing, but tinkering with it in MyLink seems to work fine.

The real gem of the Smartphone Link suite is BringGo. BringGo gives you a fully functional in car GPS for less than the price of a standalone GPS unit. For $50, you get full access to BringGo. For an extra $10, you also get map updates for 3 years.

With Android, only a few phones work with bringgo, and from what I've read reliability is spotty. With iPhone, however, it works flawlessly. I drove to Oklahoma City yesterday and BringGo worked as good as if not better than any other GPS system I've used.

All that is great, and a definite step up from past solutions. The car is basically just a screen for your phone; all the apps are driven by the phone instead of the car, meaning updates are quick and easy. For BringGo, this also gives you the easy ability to take your navigation with you because it's on your phone instead of your car. When I went to OKC yesterday I pulled up bringgo in the house and set up the route so it was ready to go once I got in the car. It may not sound like much, but it really is a monumental improvement from typing everything in from inside the car.

This is all great, but where's the key to the future here? Siri EyesFree

Hold down a button on the steering wheel, and Siri comes up through the car. Doesn't sound like much, but it is HUGE.

Here's a list of things I did with Siri on my drive yesterday:

Passed a Texas Tech truck, wondered how badly KU got beaten. I asked siri the score, she told me Texas Tech crushed Kansas 54 to 16

I had a passing thought late at night wondering what the capital city of Oklahoma was. Asked Siri, she confirmed it's OKC

Sent a text message to my friend telling her I was 10 minutes out. The process was simple: I asked Siri to send a message to my friend, Siri asked for my message, I said 'I'm ten minutes away', Siri read it back to me and sent the message.

That last one is the key: sending a text message without taking your hands of the steering wheel or eyes off the road. I believe Siri can also read messages to you, but I haven't tried that yet. This is definitely much safer than the alternative, which is to pick up the phone and type a message. And this is only the beginning: Chevy has said they plan to add support for more apps, and Apple has talked about full iOS integration in the car. It might not be limited to iPhones either; Google has pushed their voice recognition siri-alternative more and more lately, so there's not really anything stopping Android from featuring a similar function.

As more and more cars come standard with fancy infotainment systems features like smartphone link hold the key to many of the concerns people have with infotainment. They open the door to safety innovation, help to curb the concerns of obsolescence, and provide high dollar features and budget prices.

I'm totally enamored by MyLink now. It's a fantastic system that balances simplicity with functionality extremely well. I know many Oppo readers question the need for infotainment, but let me tell you: driving 180 miles south from Wichita to Oklahoma City is one of the most boring things a human being can do; having MyLink as a companion not only helped pass the time, but with Siri EyesFree for the first time in my life I actually felt like the car had the capacity to make me safer.

DISCUSSION (13)

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Jayhawk Jake
10/06/2013 at 17:49

Every time you post, I go looking for Sonics and tunability articles...

Jayhawk Jake > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
10/06/2013 at 17:53

Check out sonicownersforum.com. They're easily tuned for an extra 30 hp, more work will push that higher.

I'm going to get a tune, just trying to be a good boy and wait for a sale

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Jayhawk Jake
10/06/2013 at 17:57

It seems like a tune with I/H/E is yielding 40+ in some cases. I wouldn't mind a 180HP Sonic one bit.

Jayhawk Jake > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
10/06/2013 at 18:30

Yeah, that sounds about right. I'm going to get the budget tune soon, exhaust some day. I've got the intake already (pays for itself in turbo noise).

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Jayhawk Jake
10/06/2013 at 18:56

I like the whole idea. But I know that coming from my Si, it would be a downgrade in performance. And I don't know if I can go without for the time it would take to get it all put together.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Jayhawk Jake
10/06/2013 at 19:06

The Lexus Enform App Suite has very similar capabilities.

All manufacturers are headed the same direction. The sooner they get to the point where there is just a screen that mirrors your smart-device, and allows you to access most of its features using voice commands the better.

Jayhawk Jake > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
10/06/2013 at 19:10

I suppose. Performance isn't everything to me, it's a very comfortable car and it's extremely useable.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Jayhawk Jake
10/06/2013 at 20:30

Useable is good. And for me, comfort isn't as important as fun. That's why I don't need a full-on sports car. But I do need something a bit above the average ride.

Jayhawk Jake > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
10/06/2013 at 21:02

Well a Sonic SS isn't out of the question someday

Burrito de EJ25 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
10/06/2013 at 21:15

This.

Just mirror my phone's screen reformatted to fit the car's infotainment screen.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Jayhawk Jake
10/06/2013 at 22:36

I hope so. Larger turbo, retuned DI system, bored to 1.5 for a little higher rev. Striped seats and brushed aluminum interior bits to set it apart in the market. I dig the whole shebang.

Jayhawk Jake > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
10/06/2013 at 23:05

People already get 180hp out of the 1.4, so it wouldn't be too hard to get it up to 200 or higher. Short shifter, stiffer suspension...it's totally doable. And on price there's a $3000 gap between the sonic and fiesta st so there's room to grow.

Since I just bought mine, expect the SS to be announced within 8 months lol

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Jayhawk Jake
10/06/2013 at 23:12

I appreciate your noble sacrifice.