Click for more.
Nissan and Infiniti said today that the Personalized Sound app that debuted – also today – on the Google Play store is available now for download on every Nissan and Infiniti equipped with Google built-in (footnote 1) including those on the road, at no additional cost. After downloading the Personalized Sound app from the Google Play store, the program directs drivers through a hearing test by playing tones of varying loudness and pitch. The driver responds with how well they can hear each sound by tapping on the infotainment screen, and the program creates a personalized listening profile based on that individual’s hearing.
“We want to elevate every driver’s experience, whether they have a hearing impairment, are audiophiles, or simply want to get the most out of their sound system,” said Mitchell Pope, a senior product planner at Nissan who helped lead the development of Personalized Sound. “Offering an individually tailored audio experience like this is a big first in the U.S. auto industry.”
With Personalized Sound, Nissan and Infiniti appear to be the first automotive brands in the U.S. to offer an in-vehicle hearing test of this kind. Motivated by similar systems available in high-end headphones, the system blends clever technology with an intuitive, user-friendly interface.
“After taking the test, most drivers will notice a clear difference with their new audio profile,” Pope said. “They’ll often pick up details they didn’t before, even in songs they’ve listened to countless times. But above all, they’ll know their audio was customized just for them.”
Multiple drivers can be set up in your vehicle, and each can download their own Personalized Sound app. When they select their driver profile when starting the vehicle, their Personal Sound app profile will load too. They can also link a driver profile to each key fob to further streamline the experience.
Instituting Personalized Sound
As an amateur musician raised in Nashville, Pope said Personalized Sound began as a true passion project. He first shared his idea with the Nissan team in early 2024.
“I loved the level of customization offered in some premium headphones and I wanted to bring that to the automotive world,” Pope said. “From the start, I also saw this as a clear way to help the 36 million Americans living with a hearing impairment.”
He began working on the project with engineers and other product planners. Several key team members have hearing impairments, including Patrick Fields, a program analyst at Nissan who lost some of his hearing while serving in the U.S. Army.
“Personalized Sound is ideal for music lovers like me,” Fields said. “It’s a tangible representation of Nissan’s commitment to accessibility.”
Nissan engineers looked within the organization to develop, test and launch the app in-house, in a collaborative effort across teams and departments.
“Instead of outsourcing Personalized Sound’s development, we decided to build it from the ground up,” said Vishnu Jayamohan, director of Product Strategy, Portfolio Technology and Software Services at Nissan North America. “Developed in less than 18 months with our in-house software talent, this app is a beacon for the speed and creativity in software innovation that we want to offer across our portfolio.”
A significant member of the development team was Ashley Baird, a Michigan Technological University student who was interning at Nissan Technical Center North America near Detroit. She helped write the code for the hearing test, the functionality of the 10-band equalizer and the profile-saving system.
“Because the app needed to run like a standard Android app, I couldn’t plug my code directly into the car’s audio system or interact with it in the way that the existing equalizer does,” Baird elucidated. “It took extensive testing to find a way to interact with the car’s media system. I ended up discovering an Android audio processing effect that lets you tap into the sound that’s already going to the speakers and adjust it, so the app could apply the changes directly to supported audio sources in the vehicle.”
In internal testing, 96% of participants said they would keep their Personalized Sound profile activated.
“The best part was seeing people try the app for the first time,” Baird said. “I think a lot of people expected the app to be very basic. It was awesome to see them realize that something they could just download from the Google Play store could offer so much audio customization that their car didn’t previously have.”
“After taking the test, most drivers will notice a clear difference with their new audio profile,” Pope said. “They’ll often pick up details they didn’t before, even in songs they’ve listened to countless times. But above all, they’ll know their audio was customized just for them.”
(1) Inevitable Personalized Sound Footnote
Feature availability varies by vehicle model year, model, trim level, packaging and options. Consumer activation of a compatible NissanConnect Services package (“Package”) required. Package trial period included with eligible new vehicle purchase or lease. Trial period may be subject to change or termination at any time and without notice. After trial period ends, monthly subscription fee required. Driving is serious business and requires your full attention. Only use features when safe and legal to do so. Never program while driving. GPS mapping may not be detailed in all areas or reflect current road status. Connectivity service required. App subscriptions may be required. Data rates may apply. Subject to third party service availability. Should such service providers terminate or restrict service or features, service or features may be suspended or terminated without notice or with no liability to NISSAN or its partners or agents. Google, Google Play and Google Maps are trademarks of Google LLC. For more information, see www.nissanusa.com/connect/legal.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Wadda You Say? Personalized Sound at Nissan, Infiniti
Click for more.
Nissan and Infiniti said today that the Personalized Sound app that debuted – also today – on the Google Play store is available now for download on every Nissan and Infiniti equipped with Google built-in (footnote 1) including those on the road, at no additional cost. After downloading the Personalized Sound app from the Google Play store, the program directs drivers through a hearing test by playing tones of varying loudness and pitch. The driver responds with how well they can hear each sound by tapping on the infotainment screen, and the program creates a personalized listening profile based on that individual’s hearing.
“We want to elevate every driver’s experience, whether they have a hearing impairment, are audiophiles, or simply want to get the most out of their sound system,” said Mitchell Pope, a senior product planner at Nissan who helped lead the development of Personalized Sound. “Offering an individually tailored audio experience like this is a big first in the U.S. auto industry.”
With Personalized Sound, Nissan and Infiniti appear to be the first automotive brands in the U.S. to offer an in-vehicle hearing test of this kind. Motivated by similar systems available in high-end headphones, the system blends clever technology with an intuitive, user-friendly interface.
“After taking the test, most drivers will notice a clear difference with their new audio profile,” Pope said. “They’ll often pick up details they didn’t before, even in songs they’ve listened to countless times. But above all, they’ll know their audio was customized just for them.”
Multiple drivers can be set up in your vehicle, and each can download their own Personalized Sound app. When they select their driver profile when starting the vehicle, their Personal Sound app profile will load too. They can also link a driver profile to each key fob to further streamline the experience.
Instituting Personalized Sound
As an amateur musician raised in Nashville, Pope said Personalized Sound began as a true passion project. He first shared his idea with the Nissan team in early 2024.
“I loved the level of customization offered in some premium headphones and I wanted to bring that to the automotive world,” Pope said. “From the start, I also saw this as a clear way to help the 36 million Americans living with a hearing impairment.”
He began working on the project with engineers and other product planners. Several key team members have hearing impairments, including Patrick Fields, a program analyst at Nissan who lost some of his hearing while serving in the U.S. Army.
“Personalized Sound is ideal for music lovers like me,” Fields said. “It’s a tangible representation of Nissan’s commitment to accessibility.”
Nissan engineers looked within the organization to develop, test and launch the app in-house, in a collaborative effort across teams and departments.
“Instead of outsourcing Personalized Sound’s development, we decided to build it from the ground up,” said Vishnu Jayamohan, director of Product Strategy, Portfolio Technology and Software Services at Nissan North America. “Developed in less than 18 months with our in-house software talent, this app is a beacon for the speed and creativity in software innovation that we want to offer across our portfolio.”
A significant member of the development team was Ashley Baird, a Michigan Technological University student who was interning at Nissan Technical Center North America near Detroit. She helped write the code for the hearing test, the functionality of the 10-band equalizer and the profile-saving system.
“Because the app needed to run like a standard Android app, I couldn’t plug my code directly into the car’s audio system or interact with it in the way that the existing equalizer does,” Baird elucidated. “It took extensive testing to find a way to interact with the car’s media system. I ended up discovering an Android audio processing effect that lets you tap into the sound that’s already going to the speakers and adjust it, so the app could apply the changes directly to supported audio sources in the vehicle.”
In internal testing, 96% of participants said they would keep their Personalized Sound profile activated.
“The best part was seeing people try the app for the first time,” Baird said. “I think a lot of people expected the app to be very basic. It was awesome to see them realize that something they could just download from the Google Play store could offer so much audio customization that their car didn’t previously have.”
“After taking the test, most drivers will notice a clear difference with their new audio profile,” Pope said. “They’ll often pick up details they didn’t before, even in songs they’ve listened to countless times. But above all, they’ll know their audio was customized just for them.”
(1) Inevitable Personalized Sound Footnote
Feature availability varies by vehicle model year, model, trim level, packaging and options. Consumer activation of a compatible NissanConnect Services package (“Package”) required. Package trial period included with eligible new vehicle purchase or lease. Trial period may be subject to change or termination at any time and without notice. After trial period ends, monthly subscription fee required. Driving is serious business and requires your full attention. Only use features when safe and legal to do so. Never program while driving. GPS mapping may not be detailed in all areas or reflect current road status. Connectivity service required. App subscriptions may be required. Data rates may apply. Subject to third party service availability. Should such service providers terminate or restrict service or features, service or features may be suspended or terminated without notice or with no liability to NISSAN or its partners or agents. Google, Google Play and Google Maps are trademarks of Google LLC. For more information, see www.nissanusa.com/connect/legal.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.