The future is here, and it arrived before 5G rolled out nationally.
Since September 2019, all new Toyota vehicles sold in South Africa have onboard WiFi and built-in telemetry.
Altron supplies Internet of Things (IoT) hardware and Vodacom supplies the eSIM.
“This locally-developed technology enables connectivity and gives real-time data to both Toyota and its customers,” Altron’s CEO, Mteto Nyati, told Memeburn.
This provides the driver and passengers with WiFi, and offers digital data logs and health info to the owners.
How to get onboard WiFi? There’s a once-off 15 gigs of WiFi free, and after that, you surf (while somebody else drives) by topping data up on the Toyota Connect app. This app is available on Android or iOS devices, or through your internet banking app.
The app does more than this, though.
“The app allows you to remotely lock/unlock your doors and start/stop the engine, find your parked vehicle, and set speed/distance alerts for guest drivers,” the listing in the Android app store states.
It won’t work on tablets, the app description elaborates, but “with the introduction of Wear OS smartwatch support, you can now enjoy these remote features by touch or by voice command from your smartwatch.”
So next time you have so much fun on your run with your dog that you forget where you parked your new Toyota, you can still go places by asking it where it is with your smartwatch or engaging the ignition remotely.
