Chevy Sonic, Spark to be among first Eyes Free adopters

A few days ago, we found out a little bit more about the mysterious Eyes Free feature that Apple unveiled last week. The Siri component will allow vehicles to offer native, in-car support for the digital assistant.

Today, we’ve learned some information regarding those cars. According to a new report, GM is looking to be a frontrunner in the Eyes Free adoption race. And it plans to start with its Spark and Sonic models…

GM Authority reports:

“During Apple’s presentation, the company’s Senior Vice President of iOS development Scott Forstall prominently displayed a list of nine automakers that have been working with Apple to bring Siri hands-free functionality to their vehicles. One of those automakers was General Motors.

Today, GM Authority has learned that The General will soon introduce Siri Eyes Free integration in its vehicles and the first ones to get the integration will be the Chevrolet Spark and Sonic. While the automaker’s media representatives didn’t provide specific timing details, we were told that we should expect an announcement within the next 12 months.”

Eyes Free will allow users to access Siri on the iPhone 4S using a vehicle’s stock voice command system. Once initiated, the user will be able to take full advantage of the feature, without ever taking their eyes off the road.

It’s interesting that GM, of all companies, is looking to take the lead on this — they’re not typically known for their technical prowess. And perhaps even more so, is the fact that Ford isn’t even on the list of partners.

Maybe they’re content with their Sync systems. Or maybe they’re betting Eyes Free will be a flop.

What do you think?

[9to5Mac]