Hyundai has pulled the covers off Pleos Connect, the latest iteration of the company’s in-car infotainment software platform. Pleos Connect will debut in the facelifted Hyundai Grandeur luxury sedan, which is scheduled to launch in Korea this month, followed by a phased global rollout that will include the recently revealed Ioniq 3 EV.
- Pleos Connect uses a large main touchscreen and a slim driver’s display
- New App Market allows for third-party app creation and integration into Pleos Connect
- Physical controls retained on the steering wheel and centre console
- Built-in Gleo AI can handle a variety of in-car functions via voice commands
Hyundai Pleos Connect: What does it offer?
Per Hyundai, Pleos Connect’s design philosophy focuses on ‘intuitiveness and simplicity’ via a combination of touch and physical controls. The main point of contact for Pleos Connect is a massive dashboard-mounted display (17 inches in the Grandeur), whose UI is divided into three core sections: a Driving Information Screen, an App Screen and a Bottom Bar.
As the name suggests, the Driving Information Screen displays essential driving-related data, such as engine speed, vehicle speed, range, ADAS info, and more. The App Screen projects navigation details, media and third-party applications, and it can be toggled into a ‘Single Screen’ mode that displays one app at a time or a ‘Split Screen’ mode that displays two apps simultaneously to aid multitasking. Lastly, the Bottom Bar simply provides easy access to an array of recently used or pinned apps.
Speaking of apps, among the most notable inclusions in Pleos Connect are the App Market and Pleos Playground. These are open platforms that third-party services can use to create apps and integrate them within the main Pleos Connect interface. Initial third-party providers include NAVER (maps and auto services), YouTube, Spotify, essential and genie, and Hyundai plans to rack up more external partnerships for expanding Pleos Connect’s functionality into gaming, entertainment and vehicle management services.
In addition to the main touchscreen, Pleos Connect extends to the driver’s display, which is a much slimmer unit. Expectedly, the driver’s display presents speed, media and turn-by-turn directions. The navigation system has also been improved using data from existing users, featuring a thoroughly reworked and configurable layout, more focused menus, simpler icons, real-time traffic data, and more.
Thankfully, Hyundai has retained physical functionality alongside Pleos Connect. The steering wheel sports lots of buttons, and there’s a row of physical controls underneath the main touchscreen, too, offering quick access to key functions. For the main touchscreen, Pleos Connect also includes a three-finger gesture to easily reposition app windows or instantly close unnecessary apps.
Pleos Connect introduces Hyundai’s Gleo AI
Gleo AI is the voice assistant built into Pleos Connect. Initially, Gleo AI’s functionality will be centred around vehicle control and convenience features via voice commands, but Hyundai will update it down the line to support “a variety of application services”.
Hyundai claims Gleo AI is capable of understanding and executing multiple commands – including navigation, adjusting HVAC settings and seat ventilation/heating, accessing vehicle manual information, and more – within a single request and can even supply answers to queries regarding news, weather and sports through web searches.
Hyundai to leverage Pleos Connect for SDVs and beyond
Pleos Connect marks Hyundai’s first foray into SDV (software-defined vehicles) architectures, and in the long term, the Korean carmaker aims to transition from SDVs to AIDVs (Artificial Intelligence-Defined Vehicles). OTA updates over time will enable continual feature and performance improvements for Pleos Connect.
The Hyundai Group plans to equip around 20 million Hyundai, Kia and Genesis models with Pleos Connect by 2030. Expect Pleos Connect to be among the mainstays of almost every new Hyundai Group car unveiled in the coming years.