Ford’s SmartDeviceLink (SDL) app platform is an open-source iteration of its AppLink platform, which is one of the most common platforms for connecting mobile devices to cars. It allows developers to interface directly with the car’s displays and controls using an approved smartphone app. Toyota has announced that it’s adopting SDL for its next-generation in-car infotainment systems, it’s not the only automaker that’s interested in SDL.
Ford confirms that Toyota has adopted the platform and that the likes of Honda, Mazda, Subaru and PSA Peugeot Citroën are all officially considering adopting the SmartDeviceLink platform for their next-generation cars.
SmartDeviceLink is quite similar to infotainment systems like CarPlay and Android Auto which are designed to extend the mobile experience to the car through dedicated apps that allow access to features like music, maps and messaging with minimal distraction for the driver.
Toyota points out that SDL allows automakers to configure the system’s user interface that suits in-car system characteristics which both CarPlay and Android Auto don’t, adding that “this enables customers to use apps they want more safely and comfortably.”
Even though many of its counterparts have adopted in-car infotainment systems from Google and Apple so far Toyota is betting that the vast majority of customers won’t demand compatibility for those systems, even though they extend the experience of two of the most widely used mobile platforms on the planet.
Filed in . Read more about Android Auto, Carplay, Ford and Toyota.