According to the reports, Google’s Android Auto feature has recently added many new features, and the company’s Automotive OS will appear on more vehicles. Honda has reached a cooperation with Google for the first time, and this set of in-vehicle systems from Google will be built into new models produced in 2022 and thereafter.
Google officially released Android Auto in 2015, allowing drivers to connect between their smartphones and the car’s stereo system to play music in the device, play navigation information, and answer calls through the car’s audio system.
In the next 6 years, Android Auto and the infotainment system they run have become smarter. On Thursday, Google announced that it will introduce more functions and features to drivers, whether they are running Android Auto on their phones or directly through the car.
At the beginning of its birth, the design concept of Android Auto was to avoid driver distraction. So far, drivers must carry an Android smartphone with them to use Android Auto, and turn on the Bluetooth of the car and mobile phone, so that the car and mobile phone can communicate with each other.
Recognition and pairing between the two, and the owner has to remember all kinds of verbal commands in order to let Android Auto complete all kinds of things. But in the future, the system will no longer be so complicated, and it will be able to automatically complete the connection process effectively soon, just say Hey, Google, let’s go.
More importantly, Google redesigned the car user interface to allow access to a large number of content sources, including Amazon Music, Audible, iHeartRadio, JioSaavn, Pandora, Podcast Addict, SoundCloud, and YouTube Music, and let the system read the received text aloud Message, allowing the driver to reply via voice. It is expected that these new features will appear in the English-speaking market as well as Germany, Spain, Mexico, France and Italy in the coming weeks.
For vehicles with onboard displays, Android Auto will soon add some new features, such as games. Google is working with GameSnacks to provide drivers with fun pastime games when the vehicle is not in motion. For electric vehicle owners, this feature is very practical, it can allow the owner to better spend the waiting time for charging.
In addition, Google has made refueling more convenient through its payment service. Just say Hey, Google, pay for refueling, and the vehicle’s infotainment system can complete contactless payments through Google Pay. This feature currently supports Exxon and Mobil gas stations, and will also support Shell, Konoco, Phillips 66 and 76 gas stations in the future.
And the vehicle-mounted integrated Android Auto, a large number of new brands and models will appear in its presence. Google announced on Thursday that its latest partner is Honda, and Honda will start producing vehicles with built-in Android Auto OS in the 2022 model. Soon, it will also be used in Chevrolet Silverado and Renault Mégane E-Tech.
