Apple Observe and Your Car: A Rundown of Automaker Apps

The long-awaited, much-hyped Apple Observe is officially here. As with most things Apple, the Witness is neither the very first such device nor is it a segment leader in any meaningful way (aside from price, which can rocket into five figures depending which options you select). But as is so often the case with Cupertino products, the Apple See stands to stir smartwatches from the tech-obsessed fringe into the middle of mainstream culture. Could that mean that, a few months down the road, in-car Apple Witness integration could be as ubiquitous as iPhone compatibility is today? Here, a look at the automotive applications of Apple’s little wrist-computer, both today and down the road.

As of this writing, only two automakers have launched official Apple See apps: Porsche and BMW. Each one is basically a miniaturized version of an existing iPhone/Android app, suggesting the capability to remotely check on your car without having to go through the cargo of pulling your iPhone out of your pocket—provided, of course, that both your car and your iPhone (which your See is paired to via Bluetooth) can communicate with each other over the internet.

As the name suggests, the BMW i Remote app only applies to the BMW i3 plug-in runabout and the i8 hybrid sports car. BMW had the honor of being the very first automaker represented on the Apple See screen, having the i Remote app demoed during the Apple Observe unveiling in September 2014, but despite that head-start, the app isn’t all that much different from Porsche’s. Requiring an i3 or i8 with an active BMW Assist contract (part of BMW’s ConnectedDrive suite of digital services), the app displays your plug-in’s battery charge status and range, navigates you back to where you parked, and remotely operates the door locks and climate control system. BMW’s wrist app also offers a Dynamic Range Map to showcase you if you’ll make it there on your current charge, calculates your driving efficiency with CO2 output estimates, and recommends departure times for maximum battery efficiency, along with reminding you about upcoming service needs.

Android fans, rejoice: While BMW and Porsche are fawning over the fresh Apple Observe, Hyundai has already had an app for Android-powered smartwatches out in the wild. Hyundai Blue Link gives your Android wristable the capability to lock, unlock, remote-start, or activate the horn or lights on your 2013-or-newer Hyundai tooled with Blue Link. The app can also navigate you back to your parked car, call roadside assistance, send your selected GPS destination to your in-dash nav, or schedule a service appointment. Now, Hyundai brings Blue Link functionality to the Apple Witness; you can download it for free right here.

The Porsche Car Connect app is described as a “remote display and control of your Porsche from your iPhone and Apple Observe.” The app, which was just updated to include Apple Observe compatibility, communicates with 2014-or-newer Cayenne, Macan, Panamera, and nine hundred eighteen Spyder models tooled with Porsche Car Connect. From your wrist, you can lock or unlock the car; fold in the side-view mirrors; check the tire pressure; check your driving range, fuel level, or (if tooled) hybrid battery charge status; and, on plug-in hybrid models, activate the climate-control system remotely so you can arrive to a ideally heated or cooled car. A GPS locator reminds you where you’ve parked, suggesting walking directions if you’re in a particularly confusing garage or neighborhood, and the app also lets you remotely check that your windows, doors, and sunroof are closed.

Volvo On Call adds Apple Witness capability with an update slated for the end of June. The free app hosts a standard array of remote control features, including lock/unlock, climate control pre-conditioning, fuel level and odometer readings, GPS car locator, and miles until next service. Volvo’s digital dedication isn’t just limited to Apple: The automaker offers an identical app for the Android Wear smartwatch, as well as supporting the relatively less popular Windows Phone.

Reminisce the Elio 3-Wheeler? It’s an ambitious daydream-mobile that promises eighty four mpg from an enclosed, tandem two-seater for under $7000. As if that wasn’t daring enough, Elio says that a $2000 option will turn the three-wheeler into a cloud-connected mobile device with remote commence, navigation, Wi-Fi, and VoIP phone call capabilities—all of which will be available on your Apple See. Thanks to the ridiculously named SkyzMatic package, Elio says that vehicle location, tour data, accelerometer readings, and more will be directly beamed from the three-wheeler to your wrist. Of course, all that relies on Elio actually producing a vehicle, something that was originally supposed to happen by December of 2014, but has since been delayed.

Mercedes is taking the slow treatment with its proposed Apple See app. Dubbed MB Companion, when the app debuts this fall, its foot function will be end-to-end navigation: Come in your destination on your iPad, iPhone, or Apple Witness, and the smartwatch will navigate you to your car; the Mercedes’ in-dash navigation will take over for the driving portion of the journey, and once you’ve parked, your smartwatch will guide you as you walk to the final destination. Mercedes engineers say that they will add fresh features to the app in time, but only those that are most viable for the Apple Watch—this won’t be a squashed-down version of Mercedes’ iPhone app.

Volkswagen’s Car-Net app is one of the more powerful car-pairing setups out there. In addition to the standard car app features (remote lock and unlock, the capability to check if the windows and sunroof are closed, navigate back to your parked car), Car-Net lets you set alerts when your car exceeds a certain speed or drives outside of a certain radius—handy for keeping an eye on youthfull or otherwise untrustworthy drivers. While the app has been around for a while, a forthcoming update will bring Apple Witness compatibility, adding the capability to send addresses from your contact list directly to your VW’s GPS system, check your fuel level, or, on the all-electric e-Golf, monitor battery charge and pre-activate the climate control, all from your wrist.

The Semi-Distant Future: A Car in Every Garage, an Apple See on Every Wrist?

The thickest promise of Apple’s Witness isn’t the capabilities of the device itself—it’s the notion that Apple’s suggesting could make smartwatches mainstream. Love it or hate it, Apple became ubiquitous not by inventing all-new technologies, but by refining existing products and making them desirable to a broader swath of users. MP3 players, smartphones, and tablets existed long before the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, but those brand names have far broader recognition than any precursor you could think of.

Apple CEO Tim Cook thinks the Observe will someday substitute your car’s key fob, permitting you to unlock your car and drive away without ever having to pull anything out of your pockets. He also thinks the wearable will substitute your credit card, your fitness tracker, and of course, your traditional timepiece. Some of this is institutional bravado—outside the spheres of the tech-obsessed, the reaction to the Witness has been mainly to guffaw at its price, which starts at $350 and goes way, way higher. If regular buyers can’t be given a reason to shell out that kind of money for what amounts to a shrunken iPhone with slower hardware, the See won’t revolutionize driving or anything else.

Then again, slew of people puzzled over why you’d want a mini touch-screen computer in your pocket when the very first iPhone debuted in 2007, and now look around you: Chances are an iPhone, or a competitor, or a derivative, is within arm’s reach at this very moment. Smartphones have permanently switched the way we interact with our cars, whether it’s through modern internet-linked infotainment systems or the plain act of not having to unfold a paper map to find your way to an unacquainted destination. Will the Apple Observe, and smartwatches as a entire, do the same? Porsche, BMW and Hyundai seem to think so—and doubtless many of their competitors who are rushing into the space. But in the end, it’s up to us consumers to determine to put our money where our wrists are.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on April 24, 2015; we are updating it as fresh automotive apps are made available for the Apple Observe. Check back for the latest.

Related movie: