Amazon will bring Alexa to BMWs starting next year
Alexa is coming to BMW cars to give drivers AI assistant support starting next year.
Amazon announced the new automotive integration at a special Alexa-themed event in Seattle today, where it also debuted the second version of its full-sized Echo speaker and other smart products.
The AI will come built-in to all 2018 model year BMW and MINI vehicles produced from the middle of next year onward, thanks to a new SIM card, according to the automaker. The integration will give drivers the ability to ask Alexa to control their music, check the weather, ask for directions, make a call, and more. BMW worked with Amazon to bring some Alexa voice control functionality to its BMW Connected app last year — but this new integration will offer the complete scope of the AI's capabilities right on the dashboard without needing an app.
The Alexa integration won't just offer a disembodied voice from a car's speakers, like Amazon's Echo speakers. Alexa will display information like album art and weather forecasts on the cars' dashboard displays, as you can see in the image below.
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Far-field microphones will also be embedded in the cars to pick up driver commands. The integration's full Alexa experience will also allow drivers to use Alexa skills from brands like Starbucks and NPR, to order coffee or listen to podcasts.
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Building Alexa right into cars could give Amazon a leg up on competitors like Apple and Google, whose Apple CarPlay and Android Auto systems depend on smartphone connections.
Topics Alexa Amazon Artificial Intelligence
Brett Williams is a Tech Reporter at Mashable. He writes about tech news, trends and other tangentially related topics with a particular interest in wearables and exercise tech. Prior to Mashable, he wrote for Inked Magazine and Thrillist. Brett's work has also appeared on Fusion and AskMen, to name a few. You can follow Brett on Twitter @bdwilliams910.
