Are you sick of the Mercedes-Benz Comand infotainment system in the A-Class? Even the three-pointed star is, which is why the W177 will come as standard with the next-generation infotainment system called MBUX.
Described as a “revolution in the cockpit,” Mercedes-Benz took the wraps off User Experience at the Consumer Electronics Show, a fitting venue for a high-tech car that promises to push the envelope in the premium compact segment. As the name implies, user experience is at the forefront.
Three versions have been confirmed, with the most basic of MBUX coming with one 7.0-inch display for the instrument cluster and one 7.0-inch display for the infotainment. The mid-range MBUX brings together 7.0- and 10.25-inch screens, whilst the range-topping system combines two 10.25-inch screens with a resolution of 200 dpi (1920x720 pixels).
Touch control and voice control are the name of the game, the interface including touch-control buttons on the steering wheel and a touchpad instead of a rotary controller. Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, two USB ports, and one Type-C port are also included. Cars made for the Chinese market will integrate Baidu CarLife (compatible with iOS and Android).
“A unique feature of this system is its ability to learn thanks to artificial intelligence,” highlights Mercedes-Benz, further making a case for the natural speech recognition feature. Just say “hey Mercedes” and MBUX will tend to your needs, including commands such as “temperature to 24 degrees.” Sounds more useful than other in-car voice assistants, right?
The hardware of MBUX comprises of the six-core CPU, 8GB of RAM, and two graphics chips developed by NVIDIA. As for the operating system of Mercedes-Benz User Experience, the three-pointed star took a liking to Linux because of the absolute flexibility it offers to the end user.
Last, but certainly not least, Mercedes-Benz borrowed a trick from Tesla with MBUX. More to the point, the German automaker ushers in over-the-air updates with the all-new infotainment system, which is a godsend in the day and age of technology.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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