In-Car Tech Accessories: What’s Next?

Adaptive cruise control

If you’ve ever been in cruise control and had to take it off and brake harshly for a vehicle moving slower up ahead of you, consider it a thing of the past. Adaptive cruise control will automatically adjust your speed so you maintain a safe distance from vehicles up ahead making for a smoother drive.

Cooled seats

It’s a hot summer day and you get back in your car after it’s been left in the sun for a few hours – it’s an inferno. Well, now as well as perspiring with the air on full blast, you can switch your cooled seats on to lend a helping hand. Cooled seats provide a cool current of air directly through the back of your seat to make sure you stay cool behind the wheel.

CarPlay

Using your iPhone in the car for either sat nav and music can sometimes be a little fiddly. Well, that’s certainly the way that Apple views the situation. The tech giant has just released CarPlay, an interactive screen that has all the functionality of your iPhone but on your infotainment system. You can put your favourite Spotify playlist on, set your destination and hit the road.

Wireless phone charging

Forget the stray wire that you’re currently using to charge your phone in the car, wireless phone charging is set to become a common feature in your next car. In most cases, this will exist as a pad behind your gear stick which you simply put the phone on. Anyone that’s a clean car fanatic will be mad about this new feature.

Driver profiles

If you’ve ever got back into your car only to find that your seat is in a disturbing position and all your driving features have been chopped and changed, you’ll know how infuriating it is. Enter: driver profiles. This new in-car tech will allow you to set all your car particulars into a profile which you can then reset with just one click of a button, correcting any meddling from drivers in-between.

Digital dashboard

This sounds like exactly what it is: a dashboard that is entirely digital. This full-width dashboard feature (which is being created by Honda) will be made of six screens: two that act as side mirrors, one containing all your normal control info (e.g. speedometer), two for infotainment (e.g. phone functions, radio, sat-nav) and one that acts as your rear-view mirror. Think of an experience that’s closer to a spaceship than a car and you’ll get the idea.

In-car technology is having a greater effect on our driving experience with every new release. Whilst some features are just luxuries that make for a more comfortable experience others can help to improve our driving and make us safer on the road. We hope that you’re looking forward to this new in-car tech as much as we are!