Mercedes-Benz has announced a sophisticated enhancement to its MBUX Voice Assistant—a seamless integration with smart home technologies. Effective immediately, this advanced feature facilitates users to orchestrate their domestic appliances and security apparatus via vocal commands from their vehicles.
This refined iteration of the MBUX Voice Assistant is now congruent with an array of esteemed smart home brands, encompassing Philips Hue, Samsung SmartThings, TP-Link, and myQ by Chamberlain Group.
The suite of controllable devices extends from intricate lighting systems and intelligent plugs to state-of-the-art thermostats, motion detection mechanisms, and automated garage doors.
The system proffers a real-time diagnostic of various home apparatuses. An inquiry such as, “Hey Mercedes, is the domestic environment secure?” might elicit a response delineating, “All fenestrations are hermetically sealed, albeit the luminary in the bedroom remains illuminated.”
Notably, this update possesses the capability to amalgamate multiple smart home infrastructures concurrently.
The integration process has been meticulously designed for user convenience. Patrons can expediently synchronize their smart home portfolios to their vehicle by articulating, “Hey Mercedes, assimilate my smart home dossier.”
This engenders a QR code manifestation on the central console, facilitating a swift alignment. As an alternative, the ‘Mercedes me connect’ application provides an auxiliary conduit for dossier amalgamation.
This smart home integration is a constituent of a more comprehensive augmentation to the MBUX infotainment system, slated for release this month. A salient feature includes the incorporation of Dolby Atmos acoustics, achieved via an over-the-air firmware enhancement.
This is supplemented by other Voice Assistant refinements, inclusive of the NewsFlash application, which capacitates users to vocally instruct the system to curate musical selections or disseminate contemporary news bulletins.
In a subsequent advancement, a curated selection of 2024 Mercedes models, namely the S-Class, EQE, and EQS equipped with the Entertainment Package Plus, will be endowed with the YouTube web application. Furthermore, the Hyperscreen in the EQE and EQS has undergone enhancements to proffer passengers an augmented auditory experience and the prerogative to personalize the display with a chosen image. This comprehensive update has been disseminated to an impressive 700,000 vehicles globally.
Advanced stages of preparation are underway for the 2025 debut of the third-generation MBUX system. Preliminary showcases earlier this annum revealed an expansive array of application integrations, ranging from Angry Birds and TikTok to Zoom and the Vivaldi web browser.
This forthcoming system is poised to offer intuitive automations, empowering users to modulate an array of vehicular settings, from ambient temperature to auditory selections, with singular directives.
While this avant-garde technology remains on the horizon, the current smart home feature is readily accessible to Mercedes aficionados equipped with the MBUX Voice Assistant, necessitating no supplementary financial outlays or package enhancements.
Mercedes-Benz is set to launch a comprehensive over-the-air update to its multimedia system. This significant enhancement, earmarked for over 700,000 vehicles globally equipped with the second-generation MBUX1, will bring a myriad of advancements to the fore.
Dolby Atmos Integration and Voice Assistant Refinements:
Supported by Apple Music, the integration of Dolby Atmos promises an unparalleled stereo auditory experience. It aims to infuse music with increased spatiality, lucidity, and depth. Listeners will be privy to music that mirrors the artist’s original intent, be it discerning the intricate layers of instruments, capturing the nuanced intakes of breath between lyrics, or being enveloped by melodies. Alongside, the MBUX Voice Assistant will empower vehicle occupants to select infotainment features through the “Hey Mercedes” command.
NewsFlash and Entertainment Updates:
Beyond the Dolby Atmos and Voice Assistant enhancements, this software augmentation introduces NewsFlash and the YouTube Web application to select 2024 models, including the S-Class, EQE, and EQS vehicles equipped with the activated Entertainment Package Plus. The forthcoming inclusion of NewsFlash, set for a U.S. release later this year, will facilitate users in accessing newscasts spanning general news, business, finance, culture, and more. Moreover, patrons can customize their preferred radio channels via the Mercedes me application, subsequently utilizing the MBUX Voice Assistant to curate news or musical selections.
Hyperscreen Display and Personalization:
An additional highlight of the OTA update is the support for the front passenger Hyperscreen display on EQE and EQS models. This feature not only enhances in-cabin auditory experiences for dynamic content but also introduces the option for photo personalization. Passengers can now select a bespoke image for the display, and the need for headphones to enjoy dynamic content has been obviated.
Navigation and Place Details by Google:
Vehicles equipped with the inaugural MBUX2 system and Mercedes-Benz Navigation will benefit from the Place Details feature by Google. This tool provides not just addresses and navigational directions but also detailed insights for over 200 million global locations. Information such as operational hours, photographic content, ratings, and user reviews ensures a holistic understanding of myriad destinations.
Update Notification and Delivery:
Patrons will be apprised of the MBUX Entertainment Update 2.4 through notifications, either via the Update Wizard or the Mercedes me mobile application. Once released, this update will be seamlessly delivered using MBUX’s over-the-air capabilities.
Article Last Updated: January 29, 2024.
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