Hyundai announced today that it has recently updated its Blue Link Android app bring Android Wear compatibility, allowing users compatible car models to perform a number of userful remote functions right from their wrist.
If you already use the Blue Link app on your Android phone, you should already be pretty familiar with its functions, but here's a rundown of what you can do with the app from you Android Wear smartwatch:
- Remote Engine Start
- Remote Engine Stop (Only available when vehicle is in remote engine start mode)
- Remote Door Lock / Unlock
- Remote Flash Lights / Honk Horn
- Car Finder
- Call Roadside
- Call Blue Link
Hyundai notes that all of these functions are controlled by voice commands, which should save many from having to fiddle around too much with the smaller screen on their wrist. All users need to do is open up the voice function from their Android Wear watch and say commands like "start my car," or "lock my car" and the app will do the rest.
If you own a Hyundai vehicle with Blue Link and want to check the features out, be sure to grab the app from the Google Play badge above.
Source: Hyundai
Press Release:
Android Wear™ Can Remote Start Your Hyundai
- Smartwatch App Compatible with First and Second Generation Blue Link Equipped Hyundai Models
- Commands Work with Voice Recognition
Today Hyundai owners no longer need to fish out a phone from a pocket or purse to remote start, lock or unlock their car using Blue Link™. They also won't need to look down at a phone to find their car in a crowded parking lot if they can't remember where they parked after a sold out sporting event or a business trip. This is because Hyundai has launched its Blue Link smartwatch companion app to help owners with these tasks. The latest Blue Link app update on Google Play now includes the smartwatch companion app for Android Wear. The Blue Link smartwatch app will be available for the Apple Watch shortly after its release.
"Blue Link subscribers and gadget lovers will appreciate a more convenient way to interact with their Hyundai vehicles," said Frank Ferrara, executive vice president, customer satisfaction, Hyundai Motor America. "Now you can remote start your car with your smartphone, smartwatch, laptop, desktop or tablet. It is like being James Bond 007 or Scotty in Star Trek."
Hyundai's cloud-based Blue Link platform allows features like remote start and service information to be quickly accessed through devices like smartwatches and smartphones. The new app is easy to use. The wearer simply taps an icon or uses voice commands to execute remote functions. Pushing the microphone icon on the watch activates the voice function, where the driver can execute commands such as "Start my car," "Lock my car" or "Find my car."
The Blue Link smartwatch app must be paired via Bluetooth to an owner's smartphone that contains the Blue Link mobile app. Remote functions can then be executed from almost anywhere in the U.S. as long as the user's smartphone has a Bluetooth and cellular or Internet connection.
The Blue Link smartwatch app works with first and next generation Blue Link equipped Hyundai models. The first generation Blue Link system rolled out on the 2012 Sonata and expanded across the lineup through 2013. Next generation Blue Link equipped models include the 2015 Genesis, Sonata and Azera. The smartwatch app provides all Blue Link users, including first generation owners, with even more freedom of choice when interacting with their Hyundai.
Blue Link Smartwatch features (all voice activated):
- Remote Engine Start
- Remote Engine Stop (Only available when vehicle is in remote engine start mode)
- Remote Door Lock / Unlock
- Remote Flash Lights / Honk Horn
- Car Finder
- Call Roadside
- Call Blue Link
HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 820 dealerships nationwide. All Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Assurance program, which includes the 5-year/60,000-mile fully transferable new vehicle limited warranty, Hyundai's 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty and five years of complimentary Roadside Assistance. Hyundai Blue Link Connected Care provides owners of Hyundai models equipped with the Blue Link telematics system with proactive safety and car care services complimentary for one year with enrollment. These services include Automatic Collision Notification, Enhanced Roadside Assistance, Vehicle Diagnostic Alert, Monthly Vehicle Health Report and in-vehicle service scheduling.
