Possibly the first company to bring remote start from a generic smartwatch to market is Hyundai, which launched an Android app on Google Play Wednesday and will soon release an app for the Apple Watch.
The app is part of Hyundai’s Blue Link system. Once downloaded you can tap an icon on the watch or use voice commands to remote start the car from virtually anywhere in the US with cell service. You can also lock/unlock doors or find your car in a parking lot. There’s a microphone icon to push on the watch to execute voice commands like “Start my car,” “Lock my car” or “Find my car.”
The Blue Link smartwatch app must be paired via Bluetooth to a smartphone running Hyundai’s app. The app works with all Hyundai models equipped with Blue Link which first launched with the 2012 Sonata.
“Blue Link subscribers and gadget lovers will appreciate a more convenient way to interact with their Hyundai vehicles,” said Hundai America’s Frank Ferrara, Exec VP Customer Satisfaction. “Now you can remote start your car with your smartphone, smartwatch, laptop, desktop or tablet. It is like being James Bond 007 or Scotty in Star Trek.”
In the aftermarket, Directed plans to add smartwatch capability to its Viper SmartStart early this year, it said at CES in January. It will be available through a free download for both Android watches and the Apple Watch. Startup Blackhawk RES also offers its own watch for remote start.
As of late January, eight car makers including BMW, Audi and Hyundai had publicly shown smartwatch control.
There’s been an app for the Pebble watch for some time to control the Viper SmartStart app……
I don’t think its necessarily for you to go out and buy a smart watch just for this reason. I’ve owned a smart watch since the pebble came out and I actually am looking forward to the addition of having the option on my watch. I purchased a smart watch because in my line of work I can’t really have a phone visible so it helps me stay abreast of notifications without having a phone in my hand. This will give me the convenience of starting my car from my office without taking out my phone. Its nice to be have more features added to the gadget I already own.
The watch is Bluetooth connected to the phone you already have, it does not have it’s own cellular radio in it. It’s basically just a remote control for your phone, which then remote controls to your vehicle via cellular.
I agree with you on redundancy. They seem to think we won’t have our phones within 2 inches of our fingers already, and that we have to spend money on another device to recharge at night. It’s not like we are going to drop our phones into a backpack or briefcase, simply because we have the watch…
“The watch is Bluetooth connected to the phone you already have, it does not have it’s own cellular radio in it. It’s basically just a remote control for your phone, which then remote controls to your vehicle via cellular.”
Ya, well aware the watch connects with the phone via Bluetooth. My point was when I spoke with manufacturers of the watches about the redundancy issue, some companines mentioned the stand alone cellular connection as the solution.
I spoke with almost every company that is or will be offering a watch based product and no one had an answer when I asked about the redundancy issue between “Smart” watches and cell phones that we already have.
I realize that companies want consumers to buy something new, but in the real world there is just not the need for this.
If you use a watch that has it’s own cellular connection, which will drain the battery very quick, the consumer would then have yet another monthly bill.
What’s the point?