Look closely at the spy shots of the Cadillac XT4 interior (available below), and you’ll see a small emblem in the form of a stylized N on the center stack. That emblem, as first reported on Cadillac Society, is known as the N-Mark, and it serves as the official logo of the NFC Forum, which leads us to believe that Cadillac’s upcoming compact CUV will contain NFC technology.
Short for Near-Field Communications, NFC is a group of communication protocols that enable two electronic devices to establish communication by bringing them in close proximity of each other, with one of the devices typically being a portable such as a smartphone. The technology works at a close-quarter distance of 1.6 inches (4 cm).
Currently, NFC has three general applications:
- Facilitating contactless payment systems (example: Apply Pay)
- Creating more capable connections (example: authenticating the pairing of Bluetooth devices)
- Enabling electronic identity documents and keycards (example: serving as a key to an NFC-enabled lock)
We’ll find out exactly how the Cadillac XT4 will use NFC at the end of March, when Cadillac unveils the XT4 premium compact crossover at the 2018 New York International Auto Show.
The official logo of the NFC Forum called the N-Mark
About 2019 Cadillac XT4
The Cadillac XT4 is an upcoming compact crossover that will slot under the midsize XT5 as Cadillac’s second crossover utility vehicle (CUV). The XT4 will be underpinned by the front-drive-based GM E2 platform and will be produced at the GM Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kansas.
From a business standpoint, the XT4 is of significant importance for Cadillac’s global sales growth plans, since it will fill a glaring hole in the brand’s vehicle portfolio. With just a single crossover (the XT5), Cadillac’s crossover lineup has been sorely lacking compared to competing luxury makes, all of which offer three models or more. In fact, some rivals, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz, offer up to seven CUVs/SUVs in their lineup as utility vehicle sales are experiencing rampant growth in the marketplace.
Cadillac XT4 Discussions
Discuss the XT4 in our Cadillac forum.
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Comments
Could this be for Maven? GM’s Car sharing service?
It would make perfect sense.
I don’t think it will replace the Key Fob , it may be a system where you can add your own personal Apps to CUE like Google Maps etc..
I know with Onstar you can start your car or lock doors and even find your car in a parking lot but as it is nice to be able to do it I rarely ever use it . It was cool to impress your friends with it at first but it isn’t as uncommon as it used to be .
Then there would have to be some alternative in case your smart phones battery dies , then what ?
I am part of a small group that hardly ever uses my Smart phone and at times don’t even know what vehicle I left it in or it sits in the truck overnight in the cold and my battery dies . Just not tied to my phone as much as others , even in my family .
But I have never heard of this company and know nothing about how it works . It’s an interesting idea though .
I don’t think it will “replace” the key fob, but rather provide an alternative to it. So when/if your smartphone battery dies, you can use the keyfob.
Using this for Maven is interesting, but I believe that the service will continue being facilitated by the OnStar back-end, as it is now.
Speaking of which, the OnStar RemoteLink app (recently folded into the the myBrand apps like myCadillac) works over a cellular connection (2G or 4G, depending on the model and model year) to the vehicle… it’s useful for those who do use it, and also in case you lose your key.
Adding your owns apps to CUE is not necessary when you have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto… compatible apps come over using either one of those systems. It’s important to keep in mind that NFC is not a high-bandwidth system… it’s only used for tiny packets and quick interactions. In that regard, Bluetooth and a wired connection have significantly more capacity to carry large data packets… NFC does not. If it’s used for something, it’s a quick interaction like authentication (contactless payments, pairing, etc.)
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, who knows?), society is moving towards an always-connected lifestyle. Observe young professionals and those younger still, and you’ll see that they’re “glued” to their phones whenever they’re not doing something else. So using a smartphone for something like a key fob would would satisfy that lifestyle even more.
Here’s waiting for the end of March.
Please, can’t we do anything without a phone anymore? What if phone battery goes dead?
Then charge it with your car. No one these days should leave home at least with a usb cord.
It will not replace the FOB as not everyone has a Smart Phone. It at best woul supplement it.
Also there would have to be another way to get in with out a fob as if it works on your phone why would you still carry a fob.
There would have to be another way to back it up.
How do you start car to charge phone if phone is dead? Duh.
I could ask you the same; “how do you start car to charge phone if car has no gas?”
Just like your gas tank, your phone shouldn’t be dead in the first place. You’d be awfully negligent if either was empty/dead.
If you can be aware of your car’s need for gas, you can be aware of your phone’s need for electricity. Nobody is that absent minded.
Phones are a pain in the neck and the batteries go dead very frequently. Unless you drive hundreds of miles per day most folks only put gas in their tanks once a week or longer. Hardly a fair comparison.
There’s phone service in the car. No sin going without redundant services.
Jump-start your phone?
Phone-side assistance?
The same way you open a Cadillac trunk when the car battery is dead 😉
This is sort of a gadget thing being that the Cadillac XT4 owner will still may need their key fob because you never know when you’ll be going some where with a valet parking and giving a stranger their smartphone to have their XT4 parked seems to be a risk.
Oh for crying out loud guys. As stated before:
THIS WOULD NOT REPALCE YOUR KEY/FOB.
It would be a convenience feature… your key fob would still work if/when needed.
Just like super cruise does not replace actual driving, but is an optional convenience feature.
Alex, please stop making sense. It throws off our smartphone/keyfob jihad.
🙂
i’m digging all of this gimmicky tech. i was checking out a model and i realized i didn’t need all of the tech/features above the base model.
heated/vented seats/mirrors/steering wheel … don’t need it.
apple/android … no thanks.
anything that makes it easier to locate my car when i’m stoned/buzzed … pass.
and even though the thought of starting my car while i’m on the porcelain throne is enticing, i’ll skip that too.
You can’t even skip the last part. It’s built in with all automatic Cadillac models. Mine doesn’t have it, as it’s a stick.
On a more serious note, I do appreciate that Cadillac includes many features as standard equipment. Here’s to them getting the basics down as well, like power-folding mirrors and an auto-dimming passenger-side mirror to join the auto-dimming driver’s-side unit. Only two Cadillac models currently have it: CT6 and Escalade.
Can’t we just have a car that gets me from point A to point B without having to have a PHD in computer engineering to operate? I don’t need a dashboard monitor to tell me it’s time for an oil change or my tires need rotating. Can anybody function nowadays without having a phone glued to their face?
Cars can be driven easily with no tech levels to operate. Just read the “friendly” manuals. I still use a hard key for mine, and I can unlock and lock without a fob.
Those of us who can function without nannies have been designated too old for Cadillac per the division chief. Ha ha
Isn’t it just so you can pretty much download all your contacts and stuff in the Infotainment system? I mean the Honda Accord has had this for a while.
No. The Accord just got NFC for the 2018 model year. It has not “had it for a while”.
In the accord, NFC is used for pairing the phone to the car via Bluetooth with a tap (no menu/settings required).
Yeah exactly my point. The Accord has been on sale for months now. The XT4 is still half a year or so away. Automakers have been talking for a while now about adding NFC. Love it. All GM cars hopefully get this when they are redesigned or introduced.
Right, but I don’t consider a few months or even a year to be “a while” in the automotive world.
Not 100% sure what they are talking about but i know lots of people(brother who just bought a 2018 Audi and my brother in law who has a 2018 Ford Escape to name just 2)…Neither one of them have a cell phone…Another friend has a flip phone..A lot of people don’t have or want cell phones
Wha..wha…what happens if you fffforget or lose your phone??? YIKES!
You would simply use your keyfob.
In the hypothetical scenario that the XT4 will offer users the ability to use their phone to open or start their vehicle (direct device to vehicle, not using the OnStar functionality which works through the web), then the phone would simply be AN OPTION. Users could still go back to using their key fob at any point.
So again, the smartphone would not be a replacement but an alternative to the key fob.
Thank you for telling these jabronis how it is.