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A true update

Audi offers numerous features that make individual mobility special. For equipment expert Stephanie Eckardt, the new Audi Application Store¹ offers a great combination of flexibility, entertainment and convenience.

Copy: Nadia Riaz-Ahmed, Patrick Morda - Photo: Robert Fischer Reading Time: 3 min

Stephanie Eckardt sitting inside the Audi A7 Sportback.
The smartphone has become an integral part of our lives. The new optional Audi Application Store¹ makes you a little more independent, as apps can be integrated directly into the car and accessed via the MMI. It’s Stephanie Eckardt’ favourite feature.

Stephanie Eckardt finds it exciting to see how customer expectations of their cars have changed in recent years. Herself included. “Nowadays, many people want their car to be part of their digital world, it should be as powerful and versatile as their smartphone,” explains Eckardt, who has been driving digital developments in cars as an equipment expert at Audi for over ten years. She sees the new Audi Application Store¹ as the next step and regards it as a true upgrade – because once on the road, users become a little more independent of their smartphones.

“With the Audi Application Store¹, we can take entertainment and working from the car to a new level.”

Stephanie Eckardt

It is all based on a special hardware module equipped with an open-source operating system. This gives customers access to a constantly growing number of apps that can be loaded into the MMI without having to use a smartphone. “The new app store makes it possible to access your favourite third-party apps directly through a data connection in the car,” Eckardt elaborates. “This means that even if someone leaves their smartphone at home or runs out of data, they won’t be having any problems using their favourite apps as they are directly available in the car.”


 

The Audi Application Store¹ distinguishes itself by a market-specific app selection. Different apps can be downloaded depending on which continent the customer is on. The key to this flexibility lies in the system’s Android-based platform. It enables Audi to react quickly and flexibly to international requirements. “In the past, it was comparatively time-consuming to develop new functions for infotainment,” knows Eckardt. “Now, with the Android-based system, both we and the cooperating content providers can develop apps ourselves and offer them to our customers for download in the store.”  

Bringing digital services such as the Audi Application Store¹ to Audi cars is Stephanie Eckardt’s passion. By analysing the competition and conducting surveys, she and her colleagues are constantly working to understand the most popular functions and identify emerging customer requirements at an early stage. Apps can currently be selected from categories such as Music, Video, Gaming, Navigation, Parking & Charging, Productivity, Weather and News. Regular software updates will ensure that the range on offer in the Audi Application Store¹ continues to grow. Stephanie Eckardt’s personal highlights right now are the audiobook and music provider apps. “A major advantage of the Audi Application Store¹ is the good network quality offered by a system permanently integrated in the car,” enthuses Eckardt. Thanks to the roof aerial, we can bypass the shielding effect of the car, and the connection is often more stable and even stronger than that of a smartphone. This allows apps to be downloaded and used more quickly. “Music and video streaming is more stable and less susceptible to interference, and I can well imagine that we will be able to take entertainment and working from the car to a new level in the future,” says Eckardt.

The Audi Application Store¹ is available as an option in selected models equipped with the latest MIB 3 hardware and software cluster (third-generation modular infotainment platform), regardless of the drive technology. A few weeks ago, Eckardt recalls, she and her two children were stuck in their private family car in a motorway closure in the south of Germany – without the Audi Application Store¹. “That would have been the perfect moment for the Application Store¹, I’d say. Mobile connectivity was miserable and the children in the back seat quickly became impatient. The audiobook, game or karaoke apps would certainly have kept us entertained in this stressful situation.”

Side view of the Audi A7 Sportback.

Elegant and connected

With the new Audi Application Store¹, apps can be downloaded directly into the vehicle and displayed and used on the MMI, clearly organised in categories such as News and Podcasts, Sports and Games or Video and Entertainment. The Audi A7 Sportback and other selected models can now be configured with the Audi Application Store¹. Discover the dynamic all-rounder for business and everyday life and the digital features it offers.

Configure now

Audi A7 Sportback: Fuel consumption (combined) in l/100 km: 9.0–5.3CO₂ emissions (combined) in g/km: 204–138CO₂ emission classes: G–E

Audi A7 Sportback: Fuel consumption (combined) in l/100 km: 9.0–5.3CO₂ emissions (combined) in g/km: 204–138CO₂ emission classes: G–E

 

¹The Audi Application Store gives you access to a large selection of apps. Various apps can be loaded directly into the vehicle without having to use a smartphone. You will be informed about available updates for the installed apps, which can be downloaded directly into the vehicle. The app portfolio is market-specific.
The Audi Application Store is available as an option for the Audi A4, A5, Q5, A6, A7, A8, Q8 e-tron and Audi e-tron GT models. Other models will follow.
A myAudi account and a data connection are required to use the apps. In connection with this feature, you also have the option of booking a 25 GB data package for a period of 1 year free of charge from our partner Cubic Telecom. If needed, you can also book extensions and additional data packages from our partner at any time for a fee. A separate registration and authentication on the Cubic Telecom website (https://audi.cubictelecom.com) will be required. For this purpose, a separate contract will be concluded between Cubic and you. The data package is limited to 1 year. Only available in the markets supported by Cubic.

¹The Audi Application Store gives you access to a large selection of apps. Various apps can be loaded directly into the vehicle without having to use a smartphone. You will be informed about available updates for the installed apps, which can be downloaded directly into the vehicle. The app portfolio is market-specific.
The Audi Application Store is available as an option for the Audi A4, A5, Q5, A6, A7, A8, Q8 e-tron and Audi e-tron GT models. Other models will follow.
A myAudi account and a data connection are required to use the apps. In connection with this feature, you also have the option of booking a 25 GB data package for a period of 1 year free of charge from our partner Cubic Telecom. If needed, you can also book extensions and additional data packages from our partner at any time for a fee. A separate registration and authentication on the Cubic Telecom website (https://audi.cubictelecom.com) will be required. For this purpose, a separate contract will be concluded between Cubic and you. The data package is limited to 1 year. Only available in the markets supported by Cubic.