Cars have developed over the years from being just utilitarian tools to becoming status symbols with the latest technology has to offer. Car manufacturers continue to make phone-car integrations to make cars more convenient and luxurious. While some of the integrations can be gimmicky, others are quite useful. Check out six (6) of such integration below.
1. Tesla Summon Mode
Tesla cars are packed full of technology and phone integration. Some say the only thing you can’t do with a phone to your Tesla is driving it. Well, you can summon the tesla to drive itself to you or even park itself in tight parking spaces. Of all the phone-car integrations here, this stands out.
For safety reasons, the summon mode only works within 200 feet away and as long as the car is in sight. There is also a honk button on the Tesla mobile app to use as it drives towards you. Exciting, no?
Read More: Tesla’s Smart Summon feature causing chaos in parking lots
2. Remote Door Locking and NFC Door Unlocking
Have you ever been late for a meeting and left your car in a hurry? Now you are seated through the meeting restless, not sure whether you locked your car or not? Some car manufacturers thought about a mobile app for that. The Hyundai Elantra is one of the many cars that allow you to lock and unlock your car remotely provided you have an internet connection.
Other modern cars allow you to use your phone as a virtual car key to lock and unlock car doors. This feature makes use of NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. By tapping the back of an NFC-enabled phone to the door handle of a supported car, you lock/unlock the doors.
3. Remote Air Conditioning And Heating
You left your car outside on a very hot day and as soon as you got back and opened the car door, you got hit by a heatwave; your black leather seats are somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 degrees Celcius. Some BMW among many other car models can turn on the air conditioning remotely by phone before getting in the car.
Say you’re about to leave the gym, you can remotely turn on your car’s air conditioning system few minutes before you complete your workout session. The same feature works during the winter, you can preheat the car before you leave the house. That way you will find your car cooled or heated just the way you like it. You are also able to roll your windows up or down remotely to allow some fresh air in.
4. Battery Level Monitoring
You plugged in your electric car at a service station and went in for a cup of coffee. You don’t have to keep doing mental maths of what the charge levels and range are based on the amount of time you have been there.
Most electric cars have a phone app feature that can monitor the battery level and range. That way, you know whether you will make it to your destination or next charging station.
5. Location Tracking
Many modern cars come with a car tracking feature that allows the owner to see, in realtime, the location of their car. In dire situations, it can help track a stolen car. You can as well use the feature to find the location of your car in a crowded parking lot.
In commercial vehicles, this is a very handy feature for fleet management as it can as well provide data on vehicle maintenance logs. The fleet manager can know which cars are due for service remotely on their phone.
6. Remote Start
The Ford Mustang has a remote start feature where you can start the car before you leave to warm up the engine. In addition, it has a pretty feature where you can schedule your car at a later date of your choosing. This is very useful for people who travel for long periods of time without their cars. To avoid the battery going flat, you may schedule the car to start occasionally. Now how cool is that?
Read Next: 8 Must-have Gadgets & Accessories for Car Owners
It is important to note that these features vary from one manufacturer to another as well as by car models. Before purchasing a car, ensure you carefully peruse the features to find out the phone-car integration it posseses.
