Connected Car: The Google Way

We all have been using Android phones in our cars, we rely on these Android devices for a plethora of things, whether it’s for GPS based routing or for playing our favorite music or just taking a phone call, our Android device is there to help us. If that’s the case then why the project Android Auto is making so much buzz these days .. Is there anything special underlying there or it’s just a transitory craze.. Let’s dig deeper into the project to find out what exactly is Android Auto..

Image Source: Android.com

Android Auto was designed giving safety the utmost priority. We all know how many times we have to look at the smartphone screen when we try to use the same in our car. Most of the time the information is not easily available and we have to make some interesting swipes to reach it and that too while driving.. Android Auto provides simple and intuitive interfaces, provides an integration with steering wheel controls  and supports voice commands thus minimizing the attention required for operation and also ensuring that you get what you require without disturbing your driving.

ImageSource: Androd

Android Auto uses cards to bring out all the useful information that is relevant for you. The cards are smart enough to appear when you actually need them. It also provides a voice guided navigation and traffic update so that you take the right route. Also Android Auto support seamless integration with your  smartphones thus taking care of your music, contacts ,notifications  and calls when you are on your way. Last but not the least there are beautiful auto apps already in market which can be used with Google Auto..

Enough  of Gyaan I am a developer , whats there for me in Google Auto:

 As Google says.. Android Auto basically extends the Android Platform into the car. When a user connects is Android 5.0+ smartphone to a compatible vehicle , the Auto provides an Android Experience to the user which is optimized for the car. Once connected , user can interact with compatible apps and services through voice commands and Car’s Interface like steering controls / dashboard buttons.

The developers can write their apps without having to worry about the vehicle specific  hardware , they don’t have to worry about screen resolution , touch controls, knobs or other hardware controls , the apps created using this platform provide same user experience on all the compatible vehicles running Google Auto.

As of now there are two type of apps which are supported by Auto :

•     Audio Apps: These apps all users to browse and play music and spoken audio content in car.
•     Messaging Apps : They receive incoming notifications, read out messages and send out replies using the voice interface.

To start with the development  , no vehicle specific hardware is required even a normal android tablet/ smartphone is good enough to begin the development, all you need to do is to just adjust your manifest for the car capabilities that you need to use. The support for Auto is available from Android 5.0 (API level 21)

The Road Ahead:  Although the Auto is going good but Google is planning  for something much bigger than this . If rumors are to be believed then Google is planning to build a version of Android  directly into the cars, thus allowing drivers to use all Android specific features even without plugging their smartphones in the car. As Auto was tightly coupled with the connected smartphone.  But if Android M provides this feature then it would not only solidify Google’s position in the market but also  provide a reply which is much  bigger than the offering of their rival apple (As Car Play is pretty much similar to Android Auto )

For experiencing and discussing Auto based apps please do reach us(Recrosoft Technologies Pvt. Ltd. ) at  http://www.recrosoft.com