Notably, in today’s environment, automobiles are not only transportation tools, but car features have evolved to transform vehicles into mobile communication, information, and entertainment centers. One of the most fascinating car features that scenic designers came up with is the integration of entertainment systems that are incorporated into a car to help the drivers or passengers to be able to access a variety of things within the car, such as music, navigation, and hands-free calling, among others.
Nevertheless, experience has shown that many of these systems’ current users do not fully understand the capabilities of these systems. In this guide, you will find out how to fully utilize your car’s infotainment system and what regular car features you might have missed.
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What Is a Car’s Infotainment System?
It will be helpful before going deeper into details to define what car infotainment system actually means. It is a single panel through which one may access both information and entertainment features on a single screen, usually a touchscreen or point-of-use display panel, which is usually affixed to the dashboard. They can manage anything from the music player and satellite navigation right through to the social networking compatibility with your cell phone, and you can even include climate control as well.
Many entertainment systems are supposed to minimize the distraction of drivers by being controlled through voice and touch or twist control in the steering wheel. If you want to make your ride more fun or just more productive, this piece will go a long way in helping you get the most out of your entertainment system.
1. Navigation Systems with Real-Time Updates
Even those with cars have employed the ordinary GPS navigation system that is part of the entertainment systems, but most people have no idea about the opportunities of real-time updates. Current car features in many systems include real-time traffic information, changes in the route, and even weather conditions.
These car features can help you escape heavily congested traffic around your destination, recommend other routes, and generally provide a provide a safer ride. If your system is equipped with live traffic monitoring, it is imperative to ensure that this is turned ‘on’. This will help the traffic database to be in real time and guide the system to direct you to the best way to your desired place. Some also give real-time updates on road closures, construction sites, and accidents.
Overlooked Tip: Quite a number of the users do not consider the possibility of updating their maps. Periodic updates are useful because they make certain your system features the most recent alterations on roads and POIs.
2. Smartphone Integration: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
Smartphone integration is among the most innovative advancements in entertainment systems, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It enables one to map the smartphone’s touch screen, enabling the in-car use of Google Maps, Spotify, and even the sending of messages through WhatsApp while safely on the wheel.
As much as the systems offer convenience to the users, many of them have not fully utilized them. Thanks to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, you can use your smartphone’s contact list, iMessages, and even music playlist while keeping both hands on the wheel. Both of them have voice command functions like Siri or Google Assistant, so to make a call, send a message, or play music, little is required of the driver’s hands and attention.
Overlooked Tip: Utilize apps connectable to these systems to your advantage. For example, while both local navigation applications such as Waze and podcast applications such as Pocket Casts have similar basic functionalities like Google Maps or Apple Music, they add new utilities.
Voice Control: Hands-Free Commands
Although having to use touch and steer wheel controls is sometimes more preferable, nothing can match the safety and effectiveness of the voice control. Many entertainment systems come with voice command car features, meaning that a driver can enter a destination, change the temperature, or write a text message without removing their eyes off the road. Voice control can be more than just individual operations.
For instance, you can use voice commands to dictate messages, find restaurants or stations with fuel close to you, or control the playback of any media. The most important point is just to remember the certain commands that are implemented in the particular system. Understanding how to tell your car what to do using Siri, Google Assistant, or the car’s voice control can have a huge impact on the car-owning experience.
Overlooked Tip: Teach the voice assistant the ability to identify different users, but this will be possible if you are sharing the car with other people. Some of the systems enable a user to set different profiles for the car in terms of favorite locations or song playlists.
4. Multimedia Features: Beyond Music
Certainly, embedded entertainment systems have facilitated a paradigm shift in on-car entertainment styles. It’s quite surprising that the majority of users employ the system to listen to music or the radio, but there is much more it can do. Some modern automobile infotainment systems afford streaming services, podcasts, audiobooks, and occasionally video (when the automobile is stationary).
A good number of entertainment systems also support Bluetooth audio playback, by which you can listen to music over the phone with better quality than through the radio or CDs in the car. Further, a great number of systems are compatible with such services as HD Radio and Satellite Radio to listen to more stations and different genres.
Overlooked Tip: Go further than your main music app, searching other applications and systems. For instance, get news flashing, a live stock exchange report, or any educational program on your infotainment system while driving.
5. Vehicle Diagnostics and Maintenance
Another component that is usually unnoticed by drivers is the level of efficiency of some brands and models’ infotainment systems that can track the performance of the vehicle and notify the driver about its condition. According to your type and brand of car, the system can monitor such details as oil, tire pressure, engine condition, and fuel gauges.
Some will even tell you when the car is due for an oil change or a tire swap, and then using the display, one can schedule an appointment with the local dealer. This car feature can free you from such a situation that may result in a breakdown or additional costly expense.
Overlooked Tip: You can enhance fuel economy through the use of the vehicle diagnostic car feature. By tracing the behavior of the car and the respective activity of the driver, the infotainment system assists in improving efficiency of fuel consumption and the car’s durability.
6. Customisable Display and Shortcuts
In this case, you want to get more out of your car’s infotainment system, and the best way to do so is by adding some tweaks to the display and having shortcuts to the most frequently used buttons. Some of them let you move the icons so that they’re conveniently arranged on one screen for navigation, music, or any other apps that you may want to use.
In addition, you can modify the display’s appearance, including the theme, brightness, and even its voice control sensitivity. In some models, you can set up your user profile that contains your preferred settings; every time you get inside a car, these settings will be already on. This is especially true if you share the car frequently; the multiple profiles simplifies the process of using the car for everyone.
Overlooked Tip: This simple tap strip should include activities and people frequently used, for instance, dialing a contact or changing the climate. This is because many systems also include what is referred to as “home screen” widgets; these make work much easier; there are no additional steps to undertake.
7. Advanced Safety Features
Most entertainment systems available today can include enhanced safety car features, which either give signals or help with control. Such features include lane departure warning, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and the blind spot monitor. All these car features are aimed at keeping the driver conscious of the surrounding environment and preventing the occurrence of an accident.
While most of the drivers have these options owned, they do not know how best to utilize them in the right manner. Some of the safety alerts can be made more sensitive, or the appearance of the messages availing to these systems can be changed, or some of these features can be switched off if they interfere with the operation of the vehicle.
Overlooked Tip: Invest some time in digging through the settings of the infotainment system where you can customize the type of driver assistance alert you receive. This allows you to adjust the level of assistance you get while at the same time not overwhelming or having the system feel too invasive.
8. Over-the-Air Updates
As with your smartphone or personal computer, entertainment systems can generally be updated to enhance functionality, subsequently enable additional options, and remove glitches. Regrettably, drivers received update notifications ignored by ordinary users, thinking they were not crucial or too complex to be prompted to update.
It simply marks the software to check that your entertainment system is running at optimum efficiency and that you benefit from the most up-to-date enhancements. It may have some car features that weren’t placed when you bought a car and that you may require.
Overlooked Tip: If there are options for automatic updates in your system settings, turn them on that way, which will ensure that your infotainment system’s software is constantly being updated without you having to think about it.
Conclusion
Your car infotainment hub is one of the great inventions that takes your ride safer, more comfortable, and fun. From traffic conditions, interconnection with the smartphone, and vehicle diagnostics, there are many car features in the modern car that are not commonly utilized. In effect, the best experience to have while operating a vehicle can be derived by pushing more features in your system and thus, improving the general experience of operating one’s car.
If you have not checked your car’s infotainment tech embedded features, then it is high time that you should do it so. If you are an avid technology user, or just want to feel more comfortable while driving your car, the information presented will guide you through the understanding of all possible car features of the infotainment system.
