Google opens doors to Android Auto smart home apps

Enlarge / The simple-looking IoT icon grid looks best when it's merged with Google's multi-panel home screen layout. Google

Android Auto is getting a new category of apps. Google has announced that Internet of Things apps (or smart home apps) for cars are now supported by the Play Store. Developers can now build smart home apps and, after Google's enhanced car safety check, they'll be available for car screens. It's been a while since early access, but now the feature is generally available.

As usual, the Android for Cars application program covers two different platforms: Android Auto and Android Automotive OS. Redundant branding means people are still confused, but Android Auto is an app that runs on your phone. Much like Apple's CarPlay, you plug your phone into your car's dashboard (or it connects wirelessly), and the phone's software supports the car's in-dash display. using as an external monitor. Instead of seeing the car's built-in infotainment system, you see a user interface created by Google, along with any compatible Android Auto apps installed on your phone.

Android Automotive OS (AAOS), on the other hand, is the car's infotainment system. Google signs deals with automakers to have the car run Android instead of a basic Linux or QNX or other car system, and that includes killer apps like Google Maps and Google Assistant. The car becomes a computer that runs Android, and you can never take it away. Today you will find Android Automotive OS on new cars from Polestar/Volvo, GM and soon Honda and Ford. Although AAOS and Android Auto are totally different platforms, they mostly support the same third-party apps. For Android Auto, you install the app from your phone's Play Store, while for AAOS, you use your car's built-in Play Store to install the app directly to your car's storage.

Designing apps for cars is a complicated and expensive process, as everything is subject to safety regulations from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and similar regulatory bodies around the world . The rules for car apps are extremely detailed - NHTSA's "Human Factors Design Guidance For Driver-Vehicle Interfaces" is a 260-page document that governs everything from text and icon size to how long it takes to perform a certain task. Car app developers not only have to comply with NHTSA guidelines, but also the guidelines of the other 45 countries where their Android Auto apps will be available. Following all these rules is an almost impossible task for a small developer and a huge barrier to entry.< /p>

Not all car apps are on both platforms. Android Auto (the phone app) doesn't have video apps and Android Automotive OS (it's pre-installed in your car) doesn't support messaging apps. Google

Google's solution to global safety compliance is to not let developers do much "design" and to restrict automotive app development to more limited "application models". These are rigid designs that Google prepares and checks with the world's regulators, then app developers can insert colors, icons, and data into their pre-made designs. So on Android Auto and Android Automotive, all media apps use the same basic media player design, and a company like Spotify can paint that design green and black, run their auto streams and album artwork, and choose what one or two optional buttons do. That's it. Pandora's media app is blue and plays different music, but looks exactly the same.

The rigid application model...