Android Auto, Android Automotive, Assistant Driving Mode, and Google Automotive Services: similarities and differences between Google’s infotainment systems

Forget the good (or bad) days gone by, when the system of infotainment of a car provided a CD playerone radio or at most a navigator GPS. Now that the smartphone have entered our lives with straight legs, and which unfortunately are the cause of distraction and accidents, Google has developed a series of technologies aimed at making ours voyage more enjoyable And safe. Hence, the interface has moved more and more towards i voice commands to decrease theinteraction with the screen but at the same time enriching it with functionality.

Over the years, several systems have appeared, a source of some confusion among users: Android Auto, Android Automotive, Assistant driving modeAnd Google Automotive Services. They all have the same goal and similar names, but what are they differences And affinity among the various systems of infotainment of Google? In this article we will try to answer the question, so read on!

Let’s start with the system more common And used: Android Auto (here are eleven free apps to install), Google’s app connectivity and projection technology for cars, just like Apple CarPlay it is for the iPhone.

Because Android Auto it is not a real operating system, but “simply” an app that projects an interface from the smartphone to the car screen (which obviously has to support it). Once connected phone And car via cable USB or modality wireless, to the system of infotainment the vehicle will overlap the new Android Auto screen, which will allow you to access compatible apps installed on your phone, such as navigators, multimedia player or messaging app.

Presented in far 2014, Android Auto it has evolved considerably over time and in 2019 it received one of the largest updates of its history. Since then, she has continued to receive continuous improvements, to arrive today with Android Auto 8.0, which should have brought the new Coolwalk interface as a dowry. When it arrives, they can view more elements on the screen, for a total of three appas well as having native adaptation to screens of different sizes.

But I’m not alone positive news. Android Auto it is famous for introducing gods as well problems, and in the last year the most serious has affected the owners of Samsung Galaxy S22, a bug that was finally fixed in August. Furthermore also the compatibility with USB cables on the market it is not a question to be taken lightly, so much so that even Google has introduced a control to alert the user to change cables.

Said this, Android Auto is definitely one of the better solutions to enjoy a car trip, appreciated and used daily by millions of users, in addition to the broad compatibility (according to Google’s support page, any smartphone or tablet with Android 6 and above can run the latest version of Android Auto).

Actually Android Auto was also a standalone appi.e. that you could only run on your smartphone, in order to have an interface with useful features while driving, suitable for use with a car holder where to hang up the phone, in all those vehicles that do not have a screen on board.

However, there is a but. With Android 12Google prevented users from starting thesmartphone app and in June of this year he permanently retired theAndroid Auto app for smartphone. What does this mean? Nothing more Android Auto?

No, it means that Android Auto is now executable only by connecting it smartphone to the carwhile if you want to access the smartphone interface, the way forward is now Assistant driving mode. In the next paragraph we will explain what it is.

Announced in 2019 and finally arrived in 2021 with a new interface, the Assistant driving mode was designed to replace the version of Android Auto which ran natively on smartphones.

The transition was handled rather poorly, and not everything went as it should have, but the biggest problem is accessing its functions. While Android Auto starts by connecting the phone to the car, the Assistant driving mode it is a little more complicated (albeit in theory simple) to start, because you have several options. One is with the voice command “Hey Google, let’s drive!”. Or you can have it start when you do connect to Bluetooth of your car or when the phone detects that you are driving (which does not always work).

Once started for the first time, you can tap the icon in the bottom corner and use the shortcut Add Mode to Home Screen Guide to have a button to press and speed up access in the future. All in all, launching Android Auto is more straightforward.

From an interface point of view, at startup we see a search box for the navigation called “Where to?”, music tips and shortcuts to send a text message or start a phone call using voice commands. You can also show boxes for on the screen music (Assistant Driving Mode supports YouTube Music, Spotify and other apps) and navigation at the same time.

But what are the differences with Android Auto? First of all, theinterface it’s much more simplified and voice-oriented, so it offers fewer distractions. There are two key differences: the first is that Driving mode it doesn’t work in landscape modeso you are obliged to keep the phone in vertical. The second is that you have fewer apps availablelike some apps multimedia, Google Maps, SMS And call options. There are also some for listening to music limitations, as you can only access the list of albums, playlists or recommendations and cannot browse your library.

There is another consideration to be made. Driving mode it is only available in some countries (including Italy), but beyond the geographical limitations it is not quite the replacement for Android Auto that people would have wanted. Google probably has updates in mind now Android Autobut this tool still looks like some kind of half-done job.

Let us now turn to another Google system for cars, a source of enormous confusion among users of the green robot, Android Automotive.

Self Android Auto focuses on the smartphone, as it is nothing more than a projection of the device onto the car screenwhich serves only as a support, Automotive it is a real operating system inside the car, and eliminates the need for the smartphone.

Android Automotive is a variant of Android for vehicles, no less like Android TV it is for television sets.

We understand well that at this point we are no longer talking about compatibility of a car with the system, but a car must be born with Android Automotive instead of its own system infotainmentand in fact Automotive manages everything, come on traditional systems of the vehicle such as the controls for the climate, the comfort functions and general settings to get to navigation app, messaging and multimedia streaming.

Android Automotive in short, it is Android for cars, and as happens in these circumstances, manufacturers can customize the experience in a way of adapt it to their style. Therefore Android Automotive it will not be the same for everyone, but it will depend on the brand of your vehicle.

The funny news? If you have a iPhone and you want to use CarPlay, you have to use a special app for Automotive, and Google has even released an Automotive app to be able to use Android Auto! It seems absurd, but it is actually very convenient in case you use a ‘rental carwhere of course you cannot enter all your data or your Google account.

That said, the spread of Android Automotive it is currently quite limited. Match on niche vehicles such as Polestar, now Google has begun to weave agreements with more traditional brands such as BMW and GM, so in the coming years it will surely be easier to see it. Furthermore, development continues unabated, a sign that the Big G strongly believes in the project.

We now come to the last part of our guide, i Google Automotive Services (GAS). As Google itself saysGASs are a collection of applications and services that i automotive manufacturers they can choose to license and integrate into theirs systems of infotainment (IVI) on board the vehicle.

Simply put, GASs are Google system applications gathered in a single package, in a way not too different from the Google Play Services for our smartphones. The difference is that while i Google Play Services are practically mandatory, unless a company (like Huawei) can use them, GASs are a optional for a fee that Google offers to automakers. So that Ford, GM And Volvo have decided to use GAS, instead Stellantis has entered into a partnership with Amazon. This is because as we have seen in the history of telephony the strength of an operating system lies in the quantity and quality of apps it allows access to, and Google knows this well.

As users, they are not things that you can decidebut they will ultimately impact yours driving experienceand therefore a weight, albeit marginal, in the vehicle choice. In any case, the flu of Google on the mobility it is getting deeper, and there are not many alternatives on the horizon.