Just as ‘platform’ wars broke out when Sony
launched the BetaMax videotape recording system, at the same time as a
consortium led by Panasonic launched VHS; and later when Sony launched
SuperAudioCD versus Toshiba’s DVDAudio, we will be enduring the same thing with
Smartphone platforms in our cars.
The current default standard is APPLE
CARPLAY and Android Auto; that is unless a particular car company is using its own, mysterious, self-developed interface.
However, Ford and Toyota have decided to
engage in a battle with the Californian tech giants, by launching SDL – Smart
Device Link.
The original idea comes from Ford, which integrated it with its
open source Applink software, which it launched in 2013.
So what? Says you! Well, here’s where the
similarities to Beta vs VHS comes in. Ford, Toyota, Mazda, PSA Groupe and
Suzuki, have decided to deny handing over ‘User Data’ to Apple and Google,
which is why they have banded together to ‘grow’ SDL into a competing platform.
A large part of the appeal of SDL is that
it’s open-source, which means anyone joining the consortium gets the basic
software platform for free! Can you imagine Apple and Android doing this? Well
they do, for exactly the same reasons. They all want to capture User Data. Mind
you, Apple and Android do not release ALL the data their platforms retain to the car companies, but
they do pass on pretty useful stuff to the carmakers.
What this all means is that for now, you
won’t see Apple CarPlay and Android Auto offered in any of the consortium
members’ vehicles. Again, that means – Ford, Toyota, Mazda, PSA Groupe and
Suzuki.
As far as I’m concerned this is a case of
‘stuff the customer’ – "it’s more important for us to have access to User Data,
than join the industry in using platforms which are proven, in-use and
reliable".
I sincerely believe that the Apple and Android platforms are a safety
benefit – if they stop people being distracted by using 'voice control' rather than their phones while
driving.
But, that’s not the end of the war that’s
breaking out. Bosch has also developed a platform called ‘MySpin’ as an
alternative to SDL, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto!
Ford’s decision to go it alone, was driven
by its now-departed CEO Mark Fields, so maybe the Ford Board may be forced to
rethink the choice of SDL somewhere down the line, and that would be an
embarrassing backflip.
However, it wouldn’t be the first time a corporate giant
has stuffed-up – just look at Sony’s battle scars after BetaMax and
SuperAudioCD!
I think it’s time these guys all sat down
around the same table.
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