Android Automotive will let you cast videos from your phone to your dashboard

Summary

• Google’s latest updates for Android Auto and the Android Automotive OS aim to enhance user experience with new apps and features in cars.
• The introduction of quality tiers for car apps streamlines the process of bringing existing apps to cars, ensuring a tailored experience.
• Google’s new tools and emulators make it easier for developers to create high-quality experiences for a variety of displays in cars.

Google I/O 2024 has been packed with tons of amazing announcements and new AI-enhanced features that aim to make the user experience with the company’s products better than anything we’ve seen before. These updates have also managed to make their way to Android Auto and Android Automotive OS, as Google has announced new programs and resources to make it easier for users to bring their favorite apps to their cars.

It’s been a while since we saw the launch of the first car with support for Android Auto, when in May 2015, the Hyundai Sonata became one of the most desirable vehicles for Android enthusiasts. Now, nine years later, we have more than 200 million cars compatible with Android Auto, making it an excellent moment to bring apps to cars. Google has announced new and better features that are making their way to Android Auto and Automotive OS, as car technology has become more capable of delivering safe and seamless connected experiences for drivers and passengers.

These are the new features coming to Android Auto

Indeed, the number of apps available on Android Auto has grown over the last year, with notable additions like the Uber Driver app, which allows drivers to accept rides and deliveries, along with the convenience of getting directions on a larger screen. However, things are about to get more fun as new entertainment apps like Max, Peacock, and Angry Birds are coming to select cars with Google built-in.

Further, Google Cast is also making its way to cars with Automotive OS, starting with Rivian. This will let users cast video content from your phone or tablet to your car while parked. This will be particularly helpful, as it will help you share your content with anybody in the car.

Developing apps for Android Automotive OS isn’t as simple as one would think, as there are several considerations to be met. For instance, you must think about safety standards, different screen sizes in vehicles, and more, which led to the creation of resources and tools to help you bring your apps to your vehicle.

Introducing tiers for car apps

Google also introduced three quality tiers to streamline the process of bringing existing apps to cars.

Tier 1: Car differentiated

This tier represents the best of what’s possible in cars. Apps in this tier are specifically built to work across the variety of hardware in cars and can adapt their experience across driving and parked modes. They provide the best user experience designed for the different screens in the car like the center console, instrument cluster and additional screens – like panoramic displays that we see in many premium vehicles.

Tier 2: Car optimized

Most apps available in cars today fall into this tier and provide a great experience on the car’s center stack display. These apps will have some car-specific engineering to include capabilities that can be used across driving or parked modes, depending on the app’s category.

Tier 3: Car ready

Apps in this tier are large screen compatible and are enabled while the car is parked, with potentially no additional work. While these apps may not have car-specific features, users can experience the app just as they would on any large screen Android device.

The third tier is quite interesting, as Google, in collaboration with car manufacturers, has introduced the car-ready mobile apps program to accelerate the inclusion of mobile apps in cars without extra work from developers. The program will roll out in the coming months, making bringing popular apps to your car more straightforward. “This program will start with parked app categories like video, gaming and browsers with plans to expand to other app categories in the future.”

Source: Google

Google has also announced new tools and emulators to create high-quality experiences in cars, which includes a new emulator for distant and panoramic displays to make sure apps can adapt to the variety of displays in a car. A tool that will help you see how your app will look on a wide range of screen shapes and user interfaces, and an Android Automotive OS system image for Pixel Tablet to help you interact with your app as if it were on the screen of a car.