Jan 21, 2015
Not in the way you would think, either.
In recent weeks there have been a lot of major announcements
in the automotive world. Some of them are what you would expect, such as the latest vehicle models and the new “concept” cars. However, in the past couple of years the
tech industry has really been making it’s way into our vehicles, so the
technology world has had something to say in these last few weeks as well.
One of the big voices in the automotive world this month has
been (believe it or not) Google.
Aside from the self-driving car that they’re building,
Google has been taking its Android Operating system (the same Operating System
that powers your non-Apple and non-Windows phones) and creating a version of it
that works on your vehicle’s touchscreen.
Does that seem cool or intimidating to you?
Well, our take on it is this: for years now, car companies
have been trying to make their own “infotainment” systems for their cars and
this is what you see on the screens of current vehicles. The problem with this is that companies like Chevrolet aren't computer companies and don’t have much
experience making computer systems, so a lot of times these “infotainment”
systems come out a little clunky and unreliable. The solution to this, for some
manufacturers, has been to simply outsource the task to companies like Google, who already have years of experience making operating systems.
Subsequently,
“Android Auto” was born. As technology becomes a greater part of our everyday lives, car manufacturers are seeing a continually greater need to develop safe ways for drivers to interact with their technology. After all, we spend a lot of time in our vehicles. Android Auto aims to meet the needs of technologically connected drivers while maintaining a simple-enough interface for the technologically-challenged. Sounds good in theory, but we haven't laid our hands on it quite yet - so we can only tell you what we've seen in previews.
It's worth re-iterating that, for those who already have a hard time with their
smartphones (which is most of us!) Google says "fear not". Android Auto promises to be very simple to use. After all, Google wants you to keep your eyes on the road
(and so do we) so the interface will be designed with “get in and get out” in
mind. Ideally, that mindset transfers over into simplicity. Good stuff, right? We
hope so.
So what can we actually expect from Android Auto? Well, not too much is out about Android Auto yet – but there are a
few things we do know, including:
- It will have Google Maps built in, and will probably interface with OnStar (very cool!)
- It will probably replace your voice activation system with Google’s, making voice commands much more reliable.
- Thanks to the Android Auto Home Page, we know which companies will be putting it in their cars in the next few years.
- We know that this will probably start showing up around 2016
- Even your music will be handled by Android Auto’s system
- It will sync seamlessly with android phones (no word on iPhones yet!)
- Apple has a Competitor coming out, called Apple CarPlay, which we will cover in another post soon!
But most importantly, it is definitely going to change the way we interact with our cars.
Below is a little video on Android Auto that previews certain parts of it, and the webpage for Android Auto can be found here. Check it out. If you're interested in keeping up with this topic, we always announce our newest blog posts on Twitter - so drop by and follow us. We promise, what you get from us there will be worth reading.
Have a great day everyone, stay safe, and happy driving.
