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Google has opened its Android Automotive operating system (OS) to third-party apps, according to Slash Gear. The OS, which Google first unveiled in 2017, will power cars’ infotainment systems, starting with Volvo’s Polestar 2 electric car.
Slash Gear
Google is initially only opening the OS to third-party developers of media applications such as Spotify, but eventually plans to open it to all third-party apps, including those that enable navigation, communication, and more. All of these apps will be available through the Google Play store.
Here’s what it means: Google is doubling down on its efforts to integrate its tech inside connected cars, which could be the next battleground for tech companies.
- Android Automotive OS builds on Google’s prior automotive ambitions, showing the search company is deepening its push to build its footprint inside cars.Android Automotive OS marks a step up from the Android Auto interface, which enables the OS on passengers’ Android-powered mobile phones to project the screen onto a car’s infotainment center. While Android Auto’s utility is limited to Android users, Android Automotive OS is phone agnostic. This will open Google’s car offerings to a much larger share of smartphone users: In the US, for instance, the Android OS runs on about 47% of smartphones compared with iOS’s 52% share, according toStatCounter.
- Other major tech companies could follow Google into the car in order to gain an additional touchpoint with users. Apple, for example, already offers CarPlay, an interface that competes directly with Android Auto and is supported in dozens of new cars today. The company could mimic Google’s move with Android Auto OS, creating embedded software for cars that supports the same functions and tasks as its flagship phones. Other big tech companies may also follow suit and bring their services to new digital platforms and expand the number of touchpoints they have with their users. That could ultimately ramp up competition for consumers’ time in vehicles as internet-connected cars become the industry norm.
The bigger picture: Big tech firms expanding their efforts to get in cars benefits automakers, asit allows them to deliver popular products and services to customers. As TechCrunch points out, automakers have historically built their cars with their own software and services. GM, for example, has a proprietary marketplace in many of its new cars through which passengers can order food and make reservations.
Meanwhile, Ford offers Sync, a proprietary connected car offering that’s hosted in vehicles’ infotainment centers and allows passengers to make calls, stream music, and more. But with technologies such as voice assistants and media streaming in high demand inside cars, automakers should welcome the chance to have tech companies build brand name products into vehicles. For example, Amazon, Apple, and Google all have proprietary voice assistants, while Amazon and Apple have popular music streaming services.
Working with big tech companies will require automakers to ensure consumers buy into the services, especially with regards to data privacy. Many consumers don’t trust big tech companies to protect their personal data: For example, only about half of US adults agree that Google and Apple care about data privacy, per a HarrisX poll cited by Axios.
Automakers that use third-party companies’ systems or software will need to ensure that consumer data is secure and not improperly shared or used, which could require ramping up hiring of data security personnel. Beyond safety concerns, automakers may also need to find a way to monetize in-car purchases made on car apps, for example.
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See Also:
- Amazon has introduced its freight broker platform
- Intel is staying focused on its AV push as Mobileye revenue grows
- Elon Musk teased an insurance foray during Tesla’s earnings
Source: Business Insider – aaouad@businessinsider.com (Ayoub Aouad)