Making Tech Headlines · Page 6
Gemini joins CarPlay because the dashboard needed another opinion
· New York time
Google is bringing its Gemini app to Apple CarPlay. The chatbot was already available through Google Maps, and its arrival gives Google's assistant another place in the connected car environment. CarPlay puts selected phone functions on a vehicle display, bringing navigation, media and communications into an interface used during a trip. A chatbot adds another kind of service to that collection and extends competition among digital assistants into a space already busy with directions and entertainment. The attraction is easy to see. A journey can produce questions or requests, and a driver or passenger may want help without leaving the car's interface. The challenge is fitting that interaction to a setting where attention to the road remains essential. Convenience in a vehicle has to be measured against the demands of driving, not just against the number of features on a screen. The move also shows that rival platforms do not always stay in separate lanes. An Apple interface can host a Google service because people may want products from more than one company on the same journey. The dashboard once had a fairly short list of responsibilities, such as displaying speed and fuel. It can now host an expanding cast of digital helpers, each offering to make the trip easier. The trick is ensuring the conversation does not become the main destination.
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