Extensive connectivity: Infotainment System

The Audi Q8 e-tron offers an extensive range of infotainment and connectivity features. For the German market, the Audi Q8 e-tron includes the MMI Navigation plus as standard. The top Media Center supports the fast LTE Advanced transmission standard with an integrated Wi-Fi hotspot for passengers’ mobile devices. Whilst the navigation system offers intelligent destination suggestions based on previously driven routes. Journeys are calculated on-board in the car or online via the servers of map and navigation service provider HERE, incorporating real-time traffic data in the process.

The online services from Audi connect augment the navigation system and are divided into two large packages: Audi connect Navigation & Infotainment and Audi connect safety & service, which includes the vehicle status report with information on charging status and range.

Additionally, the Audi connect Navigation and Infotainment package includes car-to-x services utilizing the swarm intelligence of the Audi fleet: suitably equipped vehicles report moving into and out of parking spaces so that forecasts on vacant roadside parking spaces appear in many cities. The cars from the swarm also warn each other of hazards such as fog or black ice, as well as report current speed limits.

Individualization with Audi connect key

The optional Audi connect key provides digital access to the Audi Q8 e-tron, enabling the driver and four other authorized users to unlock, lock, and start the electric SUV using an Android smartphone. Preferred settings can be saved in up to seven different user profiles.

Inductive charging and 3D sound: telephony and sound system

To ensure full enjoyment of media, all components in the Audi Q8 e-tron that can emit electromagnetic fields and thus cause interference have been exhaustively shielded and/or suppressed. The Audi phone box makes using the phone very convenient, connecting the driver’s smartphone to the car antenna and charging it inductively. Voice-over-LTE helps to connect faster and makes it possible to use high-speed data transfer and high-resolution online voice telephony (HD Voice) at the same time. The Audi Q8 e-tron offers two USB ports for playing music from an MP3 player or smartphone through the car’s loudspeakers and two additional ports in the rear are optional.

The Audi smartphone interface links customers’ iOS and Android smartphones and inserts Apple Car Play or Android Auto environment on the MMI display. A digital radio tuner and an optional TV tuner round out the infotainment program.

The optional Bang & Olufsen Premium Sound System with 3D sound up front lends the Audi Q8 e-tron additional acoustic precision. A small speaker in each A-pillar reproduces the spatial dimension of height; the windshield reflects the sound they emit and the music is experienced exactly as it was recorded – without any artificial effects.

At the heart of the Bang & Olufsen Premium Sound System is a highly efficient amplifier driving 16 loudspeakers with 705 watts. The bass loudspeakers in the front doors are located in a separate housing therefore the surrounding paneling vibrates less. This improves the sound quality and reduces sound propagation outside the vehicle and the decoupling of the loudspeaker also provides a precise, voluminous bass.

One of the first vehicles to be so, the new Audi Q8 e-tron is holoride-capable thanks to the modular infotainment kit (MIB 3). Rear seat passengers can put on virtual-reality glasses (VR glasses) and immerse themselves in games, films, and presentations, making car rides a multimodal experience. The main attraction: virtual content adapts to the driving movements of the car in real time. For example, if the car is taking a right turn, the spaceship in the imaginary world will also fly to the right. If the car accelerates, the spaceship speeds up too. In other words, the car’s driving dynamics are integrated live into the virtual experience permitting passengers to experience various media formats including games, films, and interactive content is even more intensive.

Holoride combines the displayed content in real time with relevant data points from the car, like acceleration and steering movements as well as navigation data about the route and trip time. Additionally, the movement-synchronized journey through virtual worlds reduces the motion sickness that often accompanies conventional enjoyment of visual media in the car. Initiated by Audi, development of this innovative VR or XR (extended reality) technology is being advanced and commercialized for different manufacturers by the tech entertainment start-up holoride. Audi is the first manufacturer worldwide to introduce virtual-reality entertainment from holoride into its vehicles.

All terms marked in the text are explained in detail in the technology lexicon at www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/technology-lexicon. The equipment, data and prices specified in this document refer to the model range offered in Germany. Subject to change without notice; errors and omissions excepted.