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.

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 Store^* 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 Store^* 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 Store^* continues to grow. Stephanie Eckardt’s personal highlights right now are the audiobook and music provider apps. “A major advantage of the Audi Application Store^* 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 Store^* 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 Store^*. “That would have been the perfect moment for the Application Store^*, 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.”