2015 Hyundai Genesis Sedan: Android, Atom, And More

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Hyundai is updating its luxury sedan with a new platform and design for 2015. We flew out to Arizona for a first drive of the 2015 Genesis.

Standard Android Infotainment

The standard infotainment unit on the Genesis sedan is what Hyundai calls AVN 4.5. On the Genesis, the system is highlighted by an 8-inch touch screen display. Resolution of the display is a typical 800x480, which is adequate from the driver’s seat. Though it’s a resistive touch screen, it's still fairly responsive, and totally suitable for automotive use.

Originally, this story reflected a guess that the SoC was a Freescale i.MX 6Dual. We’ve since discovered it’s a custom order i.MX53 family SoC clocked at 1 GHz instead of the 800 MHz of the standard i.MX534/536. The i.MX53 family is an evolution of the i.MX51 used in Ford SYNC, albeit with energy efficiency improvements, support for DDR3, larger memory capacities, and other performance tweaks.

At the heart of the i.MX53 is a single ARM Cortex-A9 core with 256KB of L2 cache. A NEON coprocessor is installed, most likely aids voice recognition features of the Genesis sedan. Single-core SoCs may not seem as fast or sexy as the latest quad or even octa-core ones used in smartphones and tablets, but they do the job well for specialized single-use applications.

Graphics processing for the i.MX53 family is provided by an Imageon Z460 graphics core originally designed by AMD, but has since been purchased by Qualcomm and renamed Adreno. The graphics core is ancient by today’s standards, but still has unified shaders and support for OpenGL ES 2.0. It won’t tear up 3D benchmarks but is perfectly adequate for the simple user interface needs of an automotive infotainment system.

The most interesting bit of the Hyundai AVN 4.5 system is the use of a Linux-based operating system, which is actually Android. Hyundai heavily skins the OS for infotainment use, so it bears no resemblance to your typical Android smartphone or tablet. We were not provided with the specific version of Android, but predict that it's 2.3 Gingerbread since that falls in line with the vehicle’s development cycle.

Hyundai installs 16 GB of flash memory on the AVN 4.5, and provides users with 6,544 MB of free storage for music and images. The remaining space is partitioned off, with 164 MB for boot, 300 MB for the system, 5,120 MB for apps and backups, 500 MB for updates, 100 MB for debugging, and a whopping 2,150 MB for voice recognition.

Unfortunately, Hyundai did not have any vehicles with AVN 4.5 on hand for the launch event. We did briefly play with AVN 4.5 at CES 2014 and found it responsive. It also features Aha Radio and Pandora app support, too.

Anh T. Huynh
22 Comments Comment from the forums
  • s3anister
    I can't be the only one that gets disappointed when a new article is posted and it turns out to be a car...
    Reply
  • danwat1234
    They should make a hybrid version with a powerful electric motor to boost acceleration and to regen with and start/stop the engine with.
    Reply
  • blackmagnum
    I can't get over to being interested in a product that is a hobo's Bentley wannabe. Thanks A.T.H.
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    <yawn> Call me when they start making cars that run on photosynthesis, so we can do away with gasoline and make Al Gore shut up about Global Warming.
    Reply
  • Flicules
    I have become a little dissapointed lately with you guys covering only spaceships instead of more down-to-earth cars(price wise). I really doubt that a guy who affords an A8, a Bentley or this Hyundai really bothers to check reviews on the internet...It's nice to get a taste of the future...but a balanced mix would be better i think. Feels a bit like Top Gear :D
    Reply
  • Avro Arrow
    Strange car. Looks like an Aston Martin from the front and a Hyundai Elantra from the rear. One big mistake they made is they really overdid that fake wood paneling. That "wood dashboard" is hideous. It looks like it belongs in a Jeep Wagoneer.
    Reply
  • tuanies
    13045675 said:
    They should make a hybrid version with a powerful electric motor to boost acceleration and to regen with and start/stop the engine with.

    The problem with Hybrids on big vehicles is there's very little benefit. The next review will be of the Lexus LS600hL and the fuel economy is only about 2MPG better in the city but 1MPG worse on the highway, at the cost of 2 Equus'.

    13045840 said:
    I can't get over to being interested in a product that is a hobo's Bentley wannabe. Thanks A.T.H.

    Judging by that, anything in that $50k range is a hobo's Bentley.

    13046439 said:
    I have become a little dissapointed lately with you guys covering only spaceships instead of more down-to-earth cars(price wise). I really doubt that a guy who affords an A8, a Bentley or this Hyundai really bothers to check reviews on the internet...It's nice to get a taste of the future...but a balanced mix would be better i think. Feels a bit like Top Gear :D

    Interestingly enough, the GT-R, A8L, Equus and Bentley are the stories where there was someone that chimed in saying they owned one. But that's where there's all the advanced in-car tech. While I have come across lesser cars, there's not enough tech or new features from another model for a complete story. I do plan on having a quick story on the new WRX/STI, Fiesta ST, and eventually Mazda3. However, I believe the next round of updates to compact and subcompact cars should bring new tech that will be worth covering. We're working with vehicles on a 5-year development cycle so what was new 5-years ago is what shows up for production.

    We will also start a project car series as well with my new 2014 Mazda5 Sport 6MT that I'm working to upgrade with whatever bits of tech I can get my hands on from the aftermarket.

    13047022 said:
    Strange car. Looks like an Aston Martin from the front and a Hyundai Elantra from the rear. One big mistake they made is they really overdid that fake wood paneling. That "wood dashboard" is hideous. It looks like it belongs in a Jeep Wagoneer.

    That wood paneling is actually real matte wood. Its porous and treated.
    Reply
  • ubercake
    There's high-tech gadgetry going on all over this vehicle, but I always find it funny when auto companies throw in an analog clock to take up some space on the center console (in addition to the digital clock up in the main display). I guess if you never learned to read a digital clock you can always fall back on your analog clock reading skills? Personally, I'd prefer some iteration of a sundial in place of an analog clock.
    Reply
  • BranFlake5
    Nope! This is not a luxury car of my taste. I'd buy an Audi A4 Quattro before even considering this thing. Heck, I'd buy a Tesla for a bit more.
    Reply
  • g-unit1111
    13047884 said:
    There's high-tech gadgetry going on all over this vehicle, but I always find it funny when auto companies throw in an analog clock to take up some space on the center console (in addition to the digital clock up in the main display). I guess if you never learned to read a digital clock you can always fall back on your analog clock reading skills? Personally, I'd prefer some iteration of a sundial in place of an analog clock.

    Yeah I've always thought that's kind of random too. Let's put the highest tech you can possibly imagine in a car, charge $50K for it, then it's put a 10 cent time piece in the center of the dashboard. :lol:
    Reply