Use voice recognition to start your car with Hyundai’s Blue Link smartwatch app

By Stephen Edelstein Published January 5, 2015

Automakers are desperately trying to better-integrate smartphones into car dashboards, but what about smartwatches?

Hyundai will unveil a smartwatch app for its Blue Link telematics system at CES this week that will include voice controls for certain car functions.

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Once the app is downloaded and paired with the car via Bluetooth, the user just needs to tap an icon to activate the voice-recognition features.

Those features include remote engine start, locking and unlocking the doors, honking the horn and flashing the lights, and a car-finder function for crowded parking lots.

Hyundai owners can also call roadside assistance or a Blue Link operator using the app.

The Korean carmaker partnered with Station Digital Media to develop the app, which works with both first- and second-generation versions of Blue Link.

The first generation rolled out with the 2012 Sonata and is currently available on most Hyundai models. The second-generation system launched last year and is currently offered on the 2015 Genesis, Sonata, and Azera.

The app itself will be available on Google Play for free beginning sometime in “the first quarter of 2015,” Hyundai says.

Stephen Edelstein

Former Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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