Alexa And Apple CarPlay To Ride The 2019 Toyota Corolla

The 2019 Toyota Corolla will include some cool new features, including Apple’s CarPlay and Amazon’s Alexa.

According to The Verge, the car will make its debut at the New York International Auto Show this week.

When CarPlay was added earlier this year in the 2019 Avalon, it marked a change for the automaker — Toyota always wanted to use its own in-house proprietary operating system. When Toyota did switch to another company’s system in 2016, it opted to go with SmartDeviceLink technology developed by rival Ford, which allows smartphone app developers to integrate app functionality with in-vehicle technology.

And last year, the two automakers teamed up to form a consortium, which also included Mazda, PSA, Fuji and Suzuki, to fast track the development of standards for in-vehicle apps across the auto industry. The move was made to slow down Google and Apple from controlling the ways in which drivers connect their smartphones to increasingly smart vehicles.

The group was even working to create an open source software platform that would provide consumers with more control over their smartphone apps on the road, outside of Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto.

“Connectivity between smartphones and the vehicle interface is one of the most important connected services. Using SmartDeviceLink, we can provide this service to our customers in a safe and secure manner. We are excited to collaborate with many auto manufacturers and suppliers who share our view,” Shigeki Tomoyama, president of Toyota’s Connected Company, said at the time.

But now both CarPlay and Alexa are becoming standard features in the Corolla. Other features for the Corolla will include an 8-inch touchscreen, Siri Eyes Free, AUX, a USB 2.0 port, and hands-free phone calls and music playback via Bluetooth. In addition, a tray with optional Qi-based wireless charging is built in to hold an iPhone.

Also standard in the new Corolla is Toyota Safety Sense, the automaker’s suite of safety technology that includes pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, radar-assisted cruise control, lane tracing, and steering assist.