• Hyundai and Kia’s next-generation infotainment system due in 2026
• New infotainment system will combine Samsung’s SmartThings app
• New infotainment system will supply some options that relate to elements of a consumer’s life-style and tastes past the automobile

Hyundai and Kia on Wednesday introduced a partnership with Samsung to develop a next-generation infotainment system making the most of the capabilities of recent software-defined automobiles (SDVs) at present within the works at each automakers.

An SDV is solely a automobile whose software program and {hardware} allow it to be up to date through the cloud, doubtlessly for its complete lifetime.

The brand new infotainment system Hyundai and Kia are planning will enable house owners to regulate far more of the automobile utilizing a smartphone than what’s at present doable, because of the integration of Samsung’s SmartThings app, which permits a number of linked units to be managed through the one app. To simplify the registration course of, consumer accounts can be linked with the account of the consumer’s smartphone, Hyundai and Kia stated.

The brand new infotainment system can be unveiled in 2026, although the automakers did not title the primary automobiles that may use the system.

They stated a variety of options can be launched alongside the infotainment system, each developed internally and by third events. One in every of these can be a automobile locator that may work globally. It’s going to depend on a crowdsourced community of lots of of tens of millions of Samsung smartphones utilizing Bluetooth Low Vitality know-how, which means it will not require mobile protection to perform.

Ultimately, Hyundai and Kia will be capable of supply options associated to elements of a consumer’s life-style and tastes past the automobile. The automaker talked about areas equivalent to healthcare and pet care.

Hyundai and Kia did not point out what working system their infotainment system will use, although Android is a possible wager given Samsung makes use of the working system for its personal units. There was additionally no point out whether or not the brand new infotainment system will help Apple CarPlay, although Hyundai and Kia stated the system can be an open ecosystem, suggesting help for CarPlay can be included.

In August, Honda and Nissan introduced plans to collectively discover platforms for next-generation SDVs.