Polestar Forum Users Are Not Keen on Buying the Company's Smartphone
Polestar recently announced that it would sell smartphones in China, home of its parent company, Geely. Though odd, the move wasn’t a total surprise, given the automaker’s move to electrification and the often tight integration between owners’ phones and their vehicles. We poked fun at the announcement, but Polestar forum users took things a step further with a survey on whether owners would buy the phone should it be offered here.
Though totally unscientific, survey responses appear to tilt heavily against buying a Polestar phone. Some cite the Chinese manufacturer as a reason not to buy one, while others bemoan Polestar’s already-complicated app, saying that the phone could not possibly be any better.
Regardless of the manufacturer, smartphones are increasingly important for new vehicle buyers. Beyond connected apps that enable remote start and stolen vehicle location services, some automakers let owners use their phones as keys, and almost everyone uses Apple CarPlay or Android Auto these days.
Automotive smartphone partnerships aren’t a big thing here in the States, likely because Apple rules the market here. Additionally, buyers would need to be really into their Polestar to spend more money on a branded phone, especially when the company’s app offers most of the remote features people regularly use.
[Image: Polestar]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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LOL as if they buy the lame cars Polestar makes either.
PS do you really believe that this utterly insignificant news merits a full article, even at TTAC?
"Some cite the Chinese manufacturer as a reason not to buy one..."
Yes, but are they using their Chinese-built iPhones to weigh in?
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The Chinese carmaker Nio also has a phone out (900 bucks!), and it has all kinds of hooks into their cars.