As August arrives and the vernal heat radiates onto the final days of summer, continuous innovations are usurping the sunlight with new horizons on the automotive and tech industries.
Catch the latest on auto and tech news in the past few weeks.
Android sweet on its latest update with Nabisco partnership.
Source: Adage.com
Google is about to introduce Android 8.0 and the newest version of the famous operating system has been dubbed “Oreo.” Reflecting each version allusions to sweetness, Oreo is holding court of over a long lineage of operating system versions named after various sweets such as Nougat, Jelly Bean, and Donut. Read more
Google ebbs into ridesharing market with new European partnership for long-distance travelers.
Available in a dozen countries, BlaBlaCar will be available to Google Map users as a new option in the public transportation tab. Google already offers Uber services, which does have its own tab. Though BlaBlaCar doesn’t have its own space on Google Maps, Google is expecting a help in the apps growth and engagement. Read more
3 Key Findings for in-car media landscapes in the US, Western Europe, and China.
The report found that radio needs to embrace internet and app broadcast to surviving as streaming services like Pandora and apps like InTune begin to dominate. The report shows that digital music, stored or streamed, has become the leader in-vehicle infotainment. The report has also acknowledged that the era of the CD player is quickly coming to end as the latter technologies are emerging as its replacement. Read more
New rebate program for electric car owners in California.
Source: Wikipedia.org
The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Phil Ting from San Francisco, would change and expand an existing program for consumers to buy both hybrid and electric vehicles. The program would start big and slowly recede as funds are used. Embracing the same strategy used a decade earlier to startup California’s solar industry, the state is using this new program as a means of meeting its ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse has emission. Read more
Car builders reconsidering and downsizing their autonomous car programs.
Source: Wikipedia.org
Looking to spread the burden of investment and risk involved in this new innovation, many automakers like BMW are looking for opportunities at partnerships with other companies and sacrifice absolute proprietorship of forthcoming autonomous driving systems. Because of the forecast of the emerging self-driving car market, many companies are scaling back programs as it is more commonly understood that autonomous vehicles will only make up a small percentage of the overall driving market. Read more
Cruise, GM subsidiary, begins BETA testing autonomous cars with ride hailing service.
Sorry, but don’t bother signing up to participate; its exclusively being offered to Cruise employees. The program, called Cruise Anywhere, is already being utilized by employees as their primary means of transportation. Cruise says that at least 10% of its staff in San Francisco is using the beta program with more enrolling each week. Participants are able to access the service from 16 to 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Cruise uses Chevy Bolt EV cars that are equipped to operate as driverless-vehicles with the appropriate modifications to make it happen. Read more