CES is still going ahead, but there won’t be as many people there as usual. We’re still keen to experience as much of it as possible, even from distance.
This year’s edition was going to be no different with the largest number of automotive exhibitors in the show’s history. All of us at TomTom, myself in particular, were extremely excited to go to CES, not just to speak to folks in the industry about what we’ve been working on recently, but also to check out what everyone else has been working on.
Even though we’re not there in-person, we are in spirit (and virtually), here are some of our favorite things we’re seeing.
Screens (and digital cockpits) everywhere
If we’d have been at CES, we’d have been talking about TomTom IndiGO, the open software development platform that’s designed to make it easier, cheaper and quicker for carmakers to build their in-vehicle experiences. It’s been created to service a growing need in the industry, one which is a result of two things: drivers expecting dynamic and high-tech in-vehicle experiences and the challenging production processes carmakers face when developing software.
Indeed, if what’s on show at CES is anything to by, which it probably is, we won’t be able to buy a car in the future without it having at least a couple of large, high resolution screens. While this is great for consumers, it comes with baggage for carmakers: how to make great, unique in-car experiences.
German automaker BMW showed off its “Theater Screen”, because the in-vehicle experience for passengers and when you’re parked is as important as what the car’s actually like to drive these days.
Stellantis showed off its award winning Uconnect 5 in some of its Jeep vehicles. These cars also come with Amazon Fire TV built in, giving passengers access to a nice selection of entertainment apps.
Mercedes-Benz took headlines with its Vision EQXX concept, which you guessed it, has a massive screen that sweeps fluidly from driver’s side to the passenger’s side of the dashboard. Sure, it’s just a concept, but take a look at many contemporary cars and you’ll see a number of screens which suggest something like Mercedes’ concept is on its way.