Google's other great navigation app, Waze, is coming to Android Automotive. Today, the company announced the move on the Waze Blog, saying, "The new Waze car app brings the best of Waze's real-time navigation, routing and alerts features right to the screen. When driving, you can experience safer and more convenient journeys while eliminating the hassle of using a smartphone."
Google offers two different automotive products with a really confusing brand image. The first is Android Auto. This is Google's version of CarPlay, an app that runs on your phone but projects a special car interface onto your vehicle's dashboard screen, displaying Google Maps and compatible Android Auto apps on your telephone. Waze has been on Android Auto since 2017. Today's announcement is for Android Automotive, a different product from Android Auto. Automotive, the fully spelled version, is a full operating system instead of an application. The cars are equipped with infotainment computers and Android Automotive OS (AAOS) runs the car on Android. Even if there's an iPhone in your pocket, your car is running Android on the car's internal computer instead of something like Linux or QNX. AAOS has a car version of the Play Store, where you can download apps directly to your car, and that's where Waze is coming. Android Automotive is fairly rare around the world, but you'll mostly see it on new Volvo/Polestar, Ford, and GM cars. Sometimes Google or car manufacturers call AAOS "cars with Google built-in".
The app situation on Android Automotive is difficult. In-car infotainment systems are heavily regulated due to safety concerns, to the point that each individual application and interface must be approved by regulatory bodies around the world. It's incredibly difficult, expensive, and time-consuming for app developers, which is a big part of why Android Automotive currently only has 37 apps. You can see the full list here. AAOS only allows media and navigation apps, and even media apps don't have a custom interface. All you need to do is log into Google's interface with your own branding and audio stream, which eases the regulatory burden but limits what apps can do.
Waze's car app looks a lot like the phone app, only bigger, with the all-important report button and tons of icons detailing user reports for police, construction and road traffic. other road hazards. The screenshot even shows an "Always there?" prompts the user to confirm that a previously reported hazard is still active.
Despite creating an app for Google's car operating system, Waze is limiting the rollout to certain vehicles at this time. The company says the app is exclusive to "new Renault Austral Hybrid and Renault Megane E-Tech electric vehicles in Europe." The weird rollout could have to do with all those regulatory issues that automotive apps have to deal with, and Waze says it will bring the new app to "more users around the world in 2023".
Google's other great navigation app, Waze, is coming to Android Automotive. Today, the company announced the move on the Waze Blog, saying, "The new Waze car app brings the best of Waze's real-time navigation, routing and alerts features right to the screen. When driving, you can experience safer and more convenient journeys while eliminating the hassle of using a smartphone."
Google offers two different automotive products with a really confusing brand image. The first is Android Auto. This is Google's version of CarPlay, an app that runs on your phone but projects a special car interface onto your vehicle's dashboard screen, displaying Google Maps and compatible Android Auto apps on your telephone. Waze has been on Android Auto since 2017. Today's announcement is for Android Automotive, a different product from Android Auto. Automotive, the fully spelled version, is a full operating system instead of an application. The cars are equipped with infotainment computers and Android Automotive OS (AAOS) runs the car on Android. Even if there's an iPhone in your pocket, your car is running Android on the car's internal computer instead of something like Linux or QNX. AAOS has a car version of the Play Store, where you can download apps directly to your car, and that's where Waze is coming. Android Automotive is fairly rare around the world, but you'll mostly see it on new Volvo/Polestar, Ford, and GM cars. Sometimes Google or car manufacturers call AAOS "cars with Google built-in".
The app situation on Android Automotive is difficult. In-car infotainment systems are heavily regulated due to safety concerns, to the point that each individual application and interface must be approved by regulatory bodies around the world. It's incredibly difficult, expensive, and time-consuming for app developers, which is a big part of why Android Automotive currently only has 37 apps. You can see the full list here. AAOS only allows media and navigation apps, and even media apps don't have a custom interface. All you need to do is log into Google's interface with your own branding and audio stream, which eases the regulatory burden but limits what apps can do.
Waze's car app looks a lot like the phone app, only bigger, with the all-important report button and tons of icons detailing user reports for police, construction and road traffic. other road hazards. The screenshot even shows an "Always there?" prompts the user to confirm that a previously reported hazard is still active.
Despite creating an app for Google's car operating system, Waze is limiting the rollout to certain vehicles at this time. The company says the app is exclusive to "new Renault Austral Hybrid and Renault Megane E-Tech electric vehicles in Europe." The weird rollout could have to do with all those regulatory issues that automotive apps have to deal with, and Waze says it will bring the new app to "more users around the world in 2023".
Enlarge / Waze for Android Automotive.
Waze
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