Tag Archives: Android Auto

Android Auto & Apple CarPlay Coming to Proton Cars Soon

Proton, a well-known Malaysian automaker, plans to revolutionise its in-car experience by trying to incorporate Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. ACO Tech, the company that created Proton’s ATLAS infotainment head unit (IHU), has announced it intends to provide these features to Proton vehicles.

Sunny Wang, Head of Project Management at ACO Tech, announced the plans to integrate the systems at a media preview of the new Proton S70 sedan. He stated that Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration is actively being worked on and that users will not have to wait long before they can mirror their smartphone screens on the ATLAS IHU. However, it is crucial to remember that the integration process entails more than just a simple software update. According to Proton’s Deputy CEO, Roslan Abdullah, changes to the IHU’s chipset are required to support Android Auto and CarPlay.

proton
Source: ACO TECH

Roslan Abdullah also stated that the change and implementations must be on its hardware and not just software. This is due to the changes to the IHU’s chipset. Despite admitting the long-overdue nature of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, Roslan stated that the transition would be difficult due to the requirement for hardware modifications.

Furthermore, obtaining licences from Google and Apple is one of the most complex aspects of the process. Roslan stated that these conversations had been “a bit of a hassle”. This is mainly due to the complications caused by the geopolitical tensions and technological rivalry between the United States and China.

Sadly, as of now, neither Proton nor ACO Tech have specified a definite date for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay availability in Proton cars. While the next Proton S70, which will be on sale on November 28, will not include Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, the confirmation of active development suggests that these features are on the way for Proton users.

Android Auto Now Gives You Weather Updates

Google’s Android Auto has been getting constant updates for a while now and is getting the attention it finally deserves. Android Auto has been a blessing for plenty of Android users in their cars. With every update, they just get better, more useful, and even more relevant to drivers today than ever before. You can use Google Assistant seamlessly in your car, for example. You can also reply to text messages via Android Auto, obviously via voice activation. In one of their latest updates, the interface now allows you to spread the screen out in multiple windows with Google Maps or Waze taking up most of the real estate while allowing another app like YouTube Music, Tidal, or Spotify in a smaller window. Even your notification can get its own window in the latest interface.

Copy of 1. Hero Asset 2096x1182
Source: Google

In their latest update, Google is looking to make Android Auto a better journey companion than before by bringing more apps into the Android Auto Ecosystem. For those that are always on-the-go but can never get away from their smartphones for work, Google is bringing Zoom and WebEx into Android Auto for a more seamless video call experience even when you are stuck in a terrible traffic jam. For the long-drawn-out standstill traffic, they are also bringing Prime Video into the fold. Best of all though, for better journey planning, they are bringing weather updates via The Weather Channel app into Android Auto.

The Weather Channel app has been the most popular weather prediction app on Android devices worldwide. It is only natural to start bringing the app into Android Auto for the purpose of journey planning. The Android Auto version of the app will operate a little differently from the smartphone app though. There are still some similarities like push weather updates, but now it is more catered toward your specific journeys. It updates the users of incoming bad weather, for example, just so that you can either plan around the traffic build up, or brace for extended journey times. The Android Auto app also can offer hourly forecasts, follow-me alerting, and Trip View radar that allows you to be your own F1 race engineer watching out for rain on your journey.

Copy of 2. Android Auto commsapps
Source: Google

The updates are being rolled out to Android Auto units by select manufacturers currently and will roll out to other users following the select manufacturers. They are also rolling out digital key support in select regions for select manufacturers and models. Of course, while that nifty feature allows you to lock and unlock your car via your smartphone, you want to keep in mind that it will only work if your care comes natively with Android Auto. More information on the latest updates on Android Auto can be found on their website.

Android Auto Says Goodbye to Phone Screens

Google’s Android Auto experience is bidding goodbye to smartphone screens. The experience which was first announced back in 2015, will be moving exclusively to car screens in the near future. This news comes after Google released Android Auto for phone screens in 2019 as a stop guard measure as the platform matured for the in-car infotainment systems.

Screenshot 2022 06 27 at 23 58 40 Android Auto Android
Source: Android.com

It looks like that stop guard measure is now being replaced by Google Assistant’s driving mode. You would have realised that Google Assistant tends to notify you when it detects you driving or when you say “Hey Google, I’m driving”. The new driving mode isn’t a full-fledged Android Auto replacement, but it does provide easy access to all the apps you will need while driving.

While it does seem like a sudden move to remove Android Auto for Phone screens, it’s not as sudden as you might think. Google has been slowly removing support for Android Auto for phone screens since 2019. In its latest update, support for the app was reduced to only devices with Android 12 and above. Keep in mind, that the app for Phone Screens is already a whole generation behind Android Auto itself at this point.

Google Assistant’s Driving Mode has been in the works for a while now. It was only rolled out last year after extended delays. Moving forward, it seems like Google will be putting more emphasis on Driving Mode for phones and keeping Android Auto exclusively on Car infotainment systems.

Google Assistant's driving mode

Google Assistant’s Driving mode is available for Android smartphones running Android 9.0 or higher with a minimum of 4GB of RAM. According to Google’s own support page, the feature is available in selected regions only including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. However, we’ve been using it for the past month in Malaysia. So, it might need to be updated.

.Did you use Android Auto for smartphones? Are you using Google Assistant’s Driving Mode? Let us know in the comments.