I heard that one of the Chinese car companies was taking that approach with some of their cheapest models: people already have phones, just provide a nice place on the dashboard to hang their phone, just provide an ordinary Bluetooth speaker as the sound system, and just provide a Bluetooth app to control some of the car's lesser used functionality like the most detailed parts of the climate system and what have you.
It's a fascinating approach. I don't know if it would take off beyond the smallest, cheapest types of cars, and I certainly don't know if we'll see those sorts of ultra-cheap cars in markets like the US, but it's still great to hear that some experimentation is going on knowing that everyone already has smart phones, modern cars are an extension of that (look at the importance of Apple CarPlay [1] and Android Auto), and there's a lot of room to experiment with an electric car (given how much of an electric car is a "software car").
[1] Fun semi-related footnote: on the highest end, as well, Porsche was getting some good press that they'd moved a bunch of their controls into an iOS app that supported CarPlay. Porsche seems to have perhaps realized that "CarPlay" is the real car OS most users care about.
> I would imagine the venn diagram in the us of people with electric cars but no smartphone is pretty small.
So you do need proper route planning, charging point information and range prediction anyway. What would be the benefit of completely outsourcing this to a smartphone? Is having one additional device really going to make things easier and less brittle? Why shouldn't this be done by the car if it can be done by the car?
> Now I warm up my car by going outside and turning the key. My wife's car has a remote starter. Why do I need a screen or app in my car?
You don't need a screen or app in your car. You need the app on the smartphone. That's your remote starter.
> What would be the benefit of completely outsourcing this to a smartphone?
I already have a smartphone, which I chose and replace when it stops getting security updates. Additionally I already essentially use my smartphone to find gas stations in unfamiliar areas. Why does the source of power necessitate IOT?
> You need the app on the smartphone. That's your remote starter.
I worked for a company that made an ebike that you used your phone to start. I hated it. If your phone is dead, so is your bike. I shouldn't need a phone to start my car.
I would imagine the venn diagram in the us of people with electric cars but no smartphone is pretty small.
> You will need a mobile app connected with your car for pre-conditioning and bringing the battery to operating temperature.
Now I warm up my car by going outside and turning the key. My wife's car has a remote starter. Why do I need a screen or app in my car?