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Quick Start

Let's take 5 minutes to quickly understand HUAWEI HiCar (hereinafter referred to as HiCar for convenience).

1. What is HiCar​

HiCar is a phone-to-vehicle connectivity solution provided by Huawei. Once the phone is connected to the vehicle, you can use apps from your phone directly on the in-vehicle system, such as navigation, music, and other applications.

2. What Can HiCar Do​

You can use map applications installed on your phone directly on the vehicle's display, such as Amap, Baidu Maps, Petal Maps, etc.

Music​

You can use audio applications installed on your phone directly on the vehicle's display, such as NetEase Cloud Music, QQ Music, Beva Children's Songs, Tencent News, etc.

Making Calls​

You can make phone calls directly using the phone app on your phone via the vehicle's display.

Watching Videos​

You can watch your favorite video programs using video apps on your phone directly on the vehicle's display during rest stops.

Controlling In-Vehicle Devices​

If you have purchased a HiCar-compatible car aromatherapy diffuser and smart child safety seat, you can control them directly through HiCar.

Voice Control​

If you find it inconvenient or unsafe to operate the vehicle's screen while driving, you can use voice commands to accomplish almost all of the above functions.

More Features​

HiCar also supports in-car video calls, for example, calling the smart screen at your home to share the beautiful scenery along the way with your family.

HiCar also supports setting "Home" and "Away" scenarios in Smart Life, allowing you to remotely control smart devices at home directly from the vehicle's screen.

More HiCar-supported features are waiting for you to explore.

3. What Does HiCar Consist Of​

HiCar is a relatively complex software solution involving the application layer and system layer on both the phone side and the vehicle side. Because it involves underlying system capabilities, on both the phone side and the vehicle side, it is not possible to simply install software to make a phone or vehicle that does not originally support HiCar become HiCar-compatible.

Phone Side​

First, on the phone side, the most直观 thing we see is the HiCar App on the phone, which is the APKs we download directly from the homepage of this website.

Second, somewhat counterintuitively, after connecting HiCar, the apps you see on the vehicle — such as Amap, NetEase Cloud Music — do not need to be installed on the vehicle. They are installed on the phone.

Third, the system-level parts of the phone are often imperceptible to us. HiCar's normal operation must rely on certain underlying system capabilities of the phone. Therefore, not every phone can support HiCar.

Vehicle Side​

The vehicle side is less visible. Its main function is to open up the connection channel with the phone side on the vehicle, providing the phone with methods to use the vehicle's screen, speakers, and other hardware.

We will explain HiCar's technical architecture in more depth in subsequent chapters. Stay tuned.

4. How to Use HiCar​

To use HiCar, in short: use a HiCar-compatible phone to connect to a HiCar-compatible vehicle and use HiCar-compatible apps.

There are three conditions:

First, HiCar-compatible apps are relatively easy to obtain. Once you know which apps support HiCar, simply go to the app store, download, and install them on your phone. We cover this in a later chapter. For details, see Obtain Apps.

Second, HiCar-compatible phones are primarily certain Huawei, Honor, and select Huawei Smart Selection models. For details on how to check if your phone supports HiCar, see Check Phone.

Third, HiCar-compatible vehicles are more complex compared to phones. Some new cars come with native HiCar support, while older vehicles can use HiCar through a dongle solution, or through aftermarket head units, in-vehicle smart screens, or smart rearview mirrors. For details, see Check Vehicle.

At this point, you should have a preliminary understanding of HiCar. In the following chapters, we will expand on various aspects of HiCar, providing broader and deeper introductions and explanations.