This year’s CES may have been about startups more than ever before, but over the last few years, the car industry has also increased its presence at the show. In previous years, we heard a lot about the connected car, but until now, those cars remained virtually closed to developers. In one fell swoop, that changed this year, as Ford and GM announced concrete programs with SDKs and APIs that are either already open for developers or will be available within the next few months.
The approach the two companies are taking is very different: Ford is betting on drivers bringing their own smartphones into the car and having apps run on the phone, while GM is actually setting up a framework for running apps right in the car’s built-in infotainment system. Both of those systems have their merits: Ford’s AppLink system is easy to integrate into existing apps and drivers don’t have to pay for yet another data plan. GM’s framework, on the other hand, is more deeply integrated with the car and doesn’t necessitate a smartphone.
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