How will Google’s new ‘Android Auto’ CarPlay competitor compare? On top of opening up the SDK, unlike Apple, to messaging and audio apps, it also has a ton of support right of the bat through the Open Automotive Alliance. Following Google’s unveiling of its new Android Auto connected car platform, a long list of both new and old members of the Open Automotive Alliance have confirmed support for the new feature. Many of which are also confirmed partners for CarPlay and at least some plan to launch both platforms simultaneously in upcoming vehicles. A press release lists a number of new OAA members including Bentley, LG, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Maserati, Volvo and many more. The news also confirms that we’ll see aftermarket solutions for Android Auto from companies like Pioneer, Parrot and Alpine, which are also building aftermarket solutions for CarPlay. Here’s a full list of new OAA companies that will support Android Auto:
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That list doesn’t include founding and old members like Audi, GM, Google, Honda, Hyundai and others. Volvo and Hyundai have now independently confirmed that they will both support the platform. Interestingly, both companies are also confirmed partners of Apple’s competing CarPlay platform.
When it comes to Volvo, the company announced today that it’s joining the Open Automotive Alliance and plans to bring Android Auto to all its cars using a new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) starting with the all-new XC90. That’s notable considering that’s also the first vehicle Volvo will use to introduce Apple’s CarPlay feature later this year. Up until now there was some question about how a platform from Google might co-exist alongside Apple’s platform, but it appear at least some manufacturers plan to offer both of the competing platforms side by side in new vehicles. We’ll have to see if others decide to go Apple or Android only or offer exclusivity windows for either platform. We’ll also have to see if aftermarket solutions– like these ones from Pioneer— pack in support for both features or limit hardware to Android or CarPlay.
Hyundai, another confirmed Apple partner, will also be bringing Android Auto to its in-dash displays alongside CarPlay. Honda, also a confirmed Apple partner, released a similar announcement on Android Auto saying the feature will appear in select vehicles starting in 2015. It noted “Applicable Honda vehicles will be cross-compatible with CarPlay and Android Auto. The vehicle will automatically detect the smart phone OS.”
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If the Android code remains resident in the car’s on-board system in order to support both platforms, then no thank you. I won’t be buying that vehicle; I don’t want ANY Google code in my vehicle.
Also, what’s the point of adding app support? We already have enough carnage on the roads due to idiots texting while driving, and now you want to further integrate that into the car? There’s gonna be a LOT of groups up in arms over this…
I agree on both points. There will be NO Google code in my car. As for the third party app support, that will last about as long as it takes someone to get in a wreck while messing with their apps instead of driving. Lawmakers will be up in arms!
I agree 100%.
You nailed it. I’m 100% with you.
While I semi understand your reservations about Google code, I think that intergrating apps with help better reduce accidents. While nobody should, people check their phones, they check messages, they play soundcloud etc. Integrating these into the dash and allowing voice control helps mitigate some of these issues.
You couldn’t be more of a fanatic.
CarPlay supports third-party apps too, you missed the note: https://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/#thirdparty
Why did they implement features such as “Like”/”Dislike” songs.
Seriously, this is the kind of features that actually do disturb you while driving, cluttering your space.
Make it straightforward.
I have a feeling that it will actually be Android and iOS that will talk to what ever is installed in the car. Aren’t most QNX now? In other words, your phone is doing the heavy lifting, regardless if it is an Android or iOS device, and the car becomes, essentially, a dumb client.
Its hard to imagine a Bentley or Maserati driver buying an Android phone…
I wonder whether developers will embrace this platform in any substantial way and, given Android’s susceptibility to malware, I wonder if it is really sensible to connect an Android phone to your car anyway.
Recent sales data shows that Android’s marketshare has been at the expense of Nokia, Rim and other also-rans while Apple has maintained its growth in the upper market segments. There are lots of cheap, low-spec, Android phones out there, but it is unlikely that the users of these phones will be in the market for an automotive solution.
In Europe, however, Android has made headway in what would otherwise be Apple’s territory. If there is to be any traction for an Android in-car system it may be in Europe. Time will tell but Samsung is reportedly already dampening expectations for smartphone revenues in the light of poor sales of the S5 ahead of the iPhone 6 launch.
“Me too” products can gain marketshare initially but often find it difficult to maintain buyer interest. HTC, Sony & others are not making any money in smartphones and the withdrawal of any major Android vendor is likely to see prices rise and marketshare diminish. Android continues to enjoy a place in Apple’s sun – but Apple’s shadow grows larger and Android phones are now well behind Apple’s technology – this gap is likely to increase.
If it is cheap and easy to implement, auto makers will embrace Android in-car technology. Whether they they invest in keeping it ahead of Apple’s car-play will depend on how widely it is adopted.
“Its hard to imagine a Bentley or Maserati driver buying an Android phone…”
That was exactly my thought as I read the article.
lol, ditto.
oh but you two are sooooo wrong… http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/12/vertu-ti/
“Its hard to imagine a Bentley or Maserati driver buying an Android phone…”
True, i’m sure its mostly old people who buys those cars and they are probably still using Iphones. ;-)
The hip and trendy Lamborghini drivers are probably using Androids: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/tonino-lamborghini-launches-antares-android-smartphone/
However, I’m not sure why you care about that. I guess you are using an Iphone? Is it important for you that you are using the same smartphone as the people driving Bentleys?
“Android continues to enjoy a place in Apple’s sun – but Apple’s shadow grows larger and Android phones are now well behind Apple’s technology” With Apple’s iOS 8 basically a fork of Android and its many keystone features that has been part of Android since 2011 or earlier, the question that begs asking… what are you smoking? Google passed apple as the most valuable company and Android as a whole outnumbers iOS 2 to one in most cases. No my friend Apple is quickly becoming what RIM once was. And with no Jobs to save them again… well the outlook doesn’t look to sunny.
never heard about vertu?
I thought this was 9to5mac…
This UI looks so much better than carplay’s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVY10OcsE3A&list=TLdnf_z62zXI8r98IIWOzDn48VyQvdn_t-
I’m an Android guy but I really am curious about how these will coexist. What if someone switches platforms? We all own cars a lot longer than we own phones, and it’s certainly plausible that some of us might switch from android to iphone or vice versa over the course of a car’s ownership. Also, some couples who share a car might use different phones also. What do they do?
Divorce