Google is ready to open the app floodgates for Android Automotive
Android Automotive, Google's OS for cars, will be getting new car-ready apps in February, including video streaming, web browsers, and mobile gaming apps.
Only cars certified with Google built-in will support these new apps, ensuring they meet program requirements.
This change only applies to Android Automotive — Android Auto powered by phones or on third-party devices will not get these new apps until a later date.
If you thought distracted driving was bad already, Android Automotive is undergoing some changes that could make things worse. Starting next month, drivers with cars featuring Google's infotainment OS will be able to watch videos, browse the internet, and even play mobile games.
Google's car-ready mobile apps program will bring more apps to cars with Google built-in (via Android Authority). The program was announced at last year's I/O, and hopes to fill the otherwise barren app landscape on the Play Store for cars with a dizzying array of choices for drivers.
The first apps you'll see are video, gaming, and browser apps. These all need to meet Google's safety and quality guidelines, and must support x86 architecture. Cars equipped with ARM chips need not apply. However, some may still be available through Android Automotive's compatibility mode. All apps must be under 24p to qualify.
The full list of apps that will be available has not yet been released, but we do know AMC+ will be among them, so you can watch The Walking Dead rapidly deteriorate in quality by Season 6, just in case you were not road-ragey enough while driving.
Interestingly, Google's developer page mentions that only cars certified with Google built-in will support these apps. It is unclear which car models this means, but Google says this certification ensures vehicles meet the program requirements.
Android Automotive has gotten off to a slow start, with only a handful of vehicle models using the OS so far. There was excitement at I/O 2024 when Google announced it was finally bringing big updates to the platform, and the car-ready program was one of those.
Although Google said at last year's I/O that car-ready Android Automotive apps would also come to Android Auto on your phone or third-party Android Auto displays, they are not coming yet. Instead, Google now says the Android Auto counterparts to these Android Automotive apps will come "at a later date."
Future plans for Google's car-ready program for Android Automotive include the following:
Bringing the platform to larger screens.
The addition of more app categories.
Including the program in the phone version of Android Auto.
There are few other details about what we can expect next month. The success of this program will depend on the quality and availability of apps. One thing is certain, you've never played Fortnite quite like you will when it is finally available on your car's entertainment console as you cruise down the highway.An earlier version of this story conflated Android Auto with Android Automotive and misreported that these apps are coming to Google's phone-mirroring software for head units (Android Auto) rather than its infotainment operating system (Android Automotive). They may come to Android Auto at a later date, but for now, the car-ready apps program is all about Android Automotive.
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