You will soon be able to control your car from your Apple Watch

folarin okunola

02 June 2015 07:28 AM

With Volvo's On Call app's latest update, some car functions can be controlled from your wrist.

Volvo's On Call app will let Volvo owners control some functions of their car.

Swedish automaker, Volvo, recently announced an update to its Volvo On Call app which allows you to control various functions of your car via an Android, iOS or Windows Phone device. To add to that, it now supports both the AppleWatch and smartwatches running Android Wear.

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With Volvo's On Call app's latest update, many of these functions can be controlled from your wrist, though Volvo is not very specific on exactly what those functions are. An image from Volvo's press release shows an Android Wear Device with a notification that reads "Car doors are unlocked. Lock the doors?" In addition, Volvo On Call will now offer support for Cortana and allow users to push navigation information from their phones to their cars.

According to reports, Volvo joins Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche and Hyundai as automotive manufactures that have launched or are launching apps for Apple Watch and Android Wear. All perform more-or-less the same functions as Volvo's.

Furthermore, this is a crucial moment for Volvo as they have recently released the XC90, its first new model since the company was acquired by China'sGeely after a disastrous ownership by Ford. With the XC90, Volvo is leaning on its reputation for safety, while also trying to position the company as makers of beautiful, technologically advanced cars. The integration with Apple Watch and Android Wear is a good way to push that image.

The Volvo On Call update will be released at the end of this month, and as for the replacement of car keys by wearables, we'll have to see how that works out.

folarin okunola