Mazda has announced that it will be introducing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to its vehicles. The Japanese car manufacturer, however, has not stated when exactly this will be happening.
Mazda to introduce Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to its cars. The company confirmed this piece of news at the launch of its 2017 CX-5 with auto website Cars.com. The new connectivity features will be upgradeable retroactively in all current versions of its Connect systems with only a few hardware changes.
"Mazda has been a CarPlay and Android Auto partner since 2014, so it is no secret that we are developing both systems to interface with our Mazda Connect infotainment system. Both software systems should be retroactively upgradable to all Mazda Connect systems with a potentially minimal hardware addition needed. (The company) does not yet have an official timeline for when these should be available or at what cost, however," said company spokesperson Jacob Brown about the upgrades.
The company has not given a timeline for the upgrades to start. In addition, the company did not specify which of its models will be getting the upgrades. Brown's statement on the upcoming features, however, means the company's vehicles that date as far back as the year 2014 are eligible for the upgrades.
The introduction of Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto to its vehicles will mean that the company will no longer be a few of the global car manufacturers that have yet to adapt the features into their vehicles. It should be noted that other car manufacturers such as Audi, Ford, and BMW are behind with the companies rolling out the connectivity features for their 2017 and 2018 model vehicles.
The Apple CarPlay connectivity feature is available in more or less 200 different vehicle brands to date. According to the website MacRumors, Car manufacturers who have integrated the feature into their vehicles include Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Chevrolet, and Kia.
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