Google’s new infotainment system will debut on several 2015 models later this year as Silicon Valley battles to own your car’s touch-screen display.
Six months after announcing plans to counter Apple CarPlay with its Open Automotive Alliance, Google is releasing Android Auto with its next software update that lets Android devices override the car’s infotainment system with Google’s own interface and voice controls. Like CarPlay and Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Phone system, Android Auto mirrors Google-specific navigation, music, text messaging, voice commands, and certain smartphone apps (chosen by the manufacturer) directly on the touch screen.
If you’ve worked an Android smartphone, the interface—including alerts, reminders, and other bits found on the home screen—is nearly identical. Because the software lives entirely on the phone, Android Auto works only when the device is both plugged into a USB port and paired via Bluetooth. And inasmuch as this is Google, Android Auto will track your driving habits and offer route suggestions for your commute before you even set out. Likely, that’s not the last of its many tricks.
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While Google counts 28 car brands pledging to embrace Android Auto, just three have made concrete plans. Hyundai will offer Android Auto on several 2015 models (likely the Sonata, which carries Hyundai’s latest infotainment system) and Volvo is bringing it for the portrait-oriented display in the new XC90. Audi won’t carry Android until 2015. Many of the automakers have also committed to Apple CarPlay, but some big players are missing. Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari—among the first to green light CarPlay—aren’t standing with Google, and neither is BMW, which was one of the first automakers to integrate iPods. Tesla (which runs Google Maps on its own proprietary software) and Cadillac (which really wants CUE to take off) haven’t signed up with either tech giant.
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