The ability to remote start cars from a smartwatch will be available by the end of the year from General Motors. And Hyundai is planning to let you remote start a car from Google Glass.
Aftermarket suppliers say they are watching the trend.
Tom Malone of VOXX (Audiovox) said once a smartwatch develops a large market share, it would consider providing an app for it. “It would have to be something of the scale where a company made a watch that sold in the millions and we’d look at apps that would talk to our remote starters.” VOXX has no plans, however, to offer a smartwatch under its own brand for the purpose of remote starting a car.
But that million-unit selling watch could happen soon with Apple expected to launch an “iWatch” this fall. Also, we’re starting to see smartwatches using Android Wear hitting the market.
GM’s planned app will work with the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 that launched in April. The app is is essentially a scaled down version of its current remote-start-from-a-phone RemoteLink app, already in use for Android, iOS and other smartphones. It will also lock and unlock doors from the watch and flash your lights to find your parked car.
Hyundai demonstrated remote start from Google Glass back in January, in its 2015 Genesis. The Genesis is now in showrooms but the app for Glass is not yet live.
A spokesman said, “Our announcement showed our initial exploration into wearable technologies. We have not yet made a Blue Link app available to all Google Glass explorers. Hyundai is continuing to study the quickly evolving wearable tech space and working on solutions that will support these new devices within our Blue Link ecosystem.”
Other companies who have shown wearables working with cars include Volvo, Nissan, Mercedes, BMW, Harman and INRIX.
Garmin also offers a navigation app for the Sony’s SmartWatch 2.
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