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Android Auto & In-Car Apps

Daniel Davenport
4 min readMay 19, 2024
In car gaming from Andriod Auto as seen in a Google built-in, including this Volvo EX90

The car of the future is rapidly approaching, and it’s clear that apps and digital experiences will play a central role. For years, in-car technology has been the exclusive domain of automakers and their top suppliers. But a new ecosystem is emerging that promises to completely reshape how drivers and passengers interact with their vehicles. And Google’s Android Auto platform is in the driver’s seat.

At its recent I/O developers conference, Google unveiled major updates to Android Auto aimed at accelerating the development of in-car apps. These updates provide much needed process and structure to what has been a fragmented sector dominated by automakers, giving third-party developers the tools to build the next generation of automotive apps.

The Car App Revolution

To understand the significance of Android Auto’s updates, it’s important to step back and look at the current state of car app development. While we’re used to a thriving app ecosystem on our phones, the automotive world has been slower to embrace third-party innovation. Automakers have historically tightly controlled the digital experience, relying on a small group of top suppliers for software.

But that’s rapidly changing. Just as smartphones opened the door to millions of creative apps, vehicles are becoming software-defined platforms ripe for…

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Daniel Davenport
Daniel Davenport

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