Android Auto is
essentially Android for your car. It’s displayed on a touchscreen panel
where in the past you’d have found built in sat-navs and other in-car
controls and it gives you access not just to Google Maps and navigation,
but music, messages, calls and more.
Interface and operation
Aside from a compatible car, Android Auto also requires a smartphone running Android 5.0.
With both of those in hand you simply plug your handset into your cars
USB port and Android Auto will load on your dashboard screen.
At that point everything will be
controlled from the dashboard, while your phone stays silent and unlit,
ensuring it poses less of a distraction.
The actual look of Android Auto
is heavily influenced by Google Now, with cards on the home screen
giving you a quick overview of what’s running. For example if you’ve got
music playing there’ll be a card telling you the song and artist name,
while if the sat-nav is running there’ll be a card with the latest
instruction.
Alerts and notifications will also appear on this screen, telling you of missed calls, messages, weather updates and more.
At the top of the screen there are
permanent icons showing the time, battery life and signal strength, as
well as a microphone which you can tap to activate voice controls, which
along with tapping on the screen is one of the main ways to control
Android Auto (and certainly the easiest when the car is in motion).
A third way, which will be built in to
some cars, is steering wheel controls for basic actions like skipping
track or answering calls, so you don’t have to glance at the screen.
Along the bottom of the display you’ll
see icons for Google Maps, Google Music and Google Dialler, giving you
quick access to these functions, while at the far right there’s an icon
which can be used for third party apps. In many cases expect this to be
filled by an app from whichever company manufactured your car.
Additional apps can be accessed by tapping your way into deeper menus.
Of course tapping on a screen isn’t
always ideal when you’re driving, but Android Auto has been designed so
that icons and controls are large and clear, so you can easily navigate
it with a glance.
Not only is it well designed, but it
looks good, with a clean, colourful interface, a lot like Android 5.0
Lollipop itself, but stripped back to the essentials.
Google Maps
Google Maps is arguably the most
important piece of the Android Auto puzzle, as it’s this that will
replace your sat-nav. You can zoom and scroll around the map just like
on your phone if you want a bigger overview of the area and you can type
or speak a destination to start the sat-nav. You may not need to
though, as it will display suggestions based on where you’ve been
before.
Once you enter navigation mode it’s a
lot like any other sat-nav, displaying the total distance to your
destination, the distance to the next turn, the estimated time the
journey will take and an icon and written directions showing where and
in what direction you need to turn next.
It also has other handy features like
the option to get traffic alerts and if you shrink it down to do
something else on Android Auto it will keep running and keep a card on
the home screen, so you can still see the latest directions.
Google Now
Voice controls run right through Android
Auto, letting you set destinations, dictate messages and more, but you
also get the full experience of Google Now, so for example you can ask
it questions like you would on your phone and use it to set reminders
and since it’s all tied to your phone those reminders can go off on your
handset when you’re no longer in your car.
Messages
If you get a message while you’re
driving a notification will pop up at the top of the screen, small
enough that it won’t cover up Google Maps or whatever else you’re using.
You can tap it to open and read it or even have it read aloud so you
don’t have to take your eyes off the road.
Then you can use your voice to reply to
the message if you want, simply by pressing the microphone icon and
saying “reply” followed by the message.
The best thing about Android Auto
messaging though is that it’s not just SMS and it’s not tied to a
specific app. Hangouts runs in the background to power the core
messaging system, but many other third-party apps are also compatible,
such as WhatsApp and Kik, so whatever service a message comes through on
it can be displayed and actioned on Android Auto.
Phone calls
Like messages incoming calls will pop up on the dashboard screen, where you can pick to accept or reject them.
Once in a call, clear controls appear to
end or mute it and you can even access the dial pad in case you need to
navigate in-call menus.
If on the other hand you want to make a
call you can tap the dialler icon, at which point you’ll be shown recent
calls and your contact list, so you can easily just tap a number or
contact to dial it. Or if you need to enter a new number there’s an
option to bring up a dial pad too.
Dig a little deeper by tapping the menu
button on the top left of the screen and you can also find other
options, such as your voice mail.
Music
As with messaging you’re not limited to
Google’s own music apps. Google Play Music comes baked in, but the likes
of Spotify and Pandora are also supported. The look is kept much the
same no matter what app you use though, with album art in the background
and basic controls allowing you to pause, skip track or access the
playlist or menu along the bottom.
Other apps
As Android Auto supports third party
apps you can expect the number of compatible apps to grow rapidly,
especially once the service becomes readily available, so even if your
favourite music or messaging app isn’t available now it may well be
soon. Not to mention the potential for whole new app categories and
services that haven’t even been thought of yet.
How do you get it?
Android Auto isn’t yet readily available
in any cars, but it’s expected to start appearing in dashboards
sometime this year (2015).
Already a lot of car manufacturers have
signed on to include it in their vehicles, including Abarth, Acura, Alfa
Romeo, Audi, Bentley, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, Honda,
Hyundai, Infiniti, Jeep, Kia, Maserati, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel,
Ram, Renault, Seat, Skoda, Subaru, Suzuki, Volkswagen and Volvo.
While in most cases you’ll have to wait
and buy a new car to get it included, in some cases it could come as a
firmware update. For example the 2015 Hyundai Sonata is expected to get
it as an update later this year.
Alternatively if you’re not up for
investing in a new set of wheels you can get it as an aftermarket unit
to add to your existing car, with 11 companies including LG and
Panasonic planning on creating aftermarket solutions.
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