Newsletter
Today at Google I/O, the company announced that it plans to hit 200 million vehicles with Android Auto included, by the end of this year. Now that can sound sort of crazy, since there aren’t 200 million different car makes and models. This is similar to how a certain number of Android phones are activated every day. And where, most car makers do have Android Auto built into their infotainment system, this is not a huge surprise.
Google is also touting the newly redesigned Android Auto which makes it easier to reply to messages, play media and so much more. Google is also adding the ability to join meetings while you’re on the road, with apps like Cisco WebEx. Which will allow you to join a meeting via voice, obviously since there’s no camera in the car. Which is an interesting feature, but it’s unclear how useful it’d really be.
Google Built-in is expanding to more vehicles
Google Built-in, which is the newest name for Android Automotive. That’s basically vehicles that run solely on Android. So it’s more integrated than Android Auto. Vehicles like the Polestar 2 and Volvo XC40. Google says that by the end of this year, the number of car makers with Android Built-in will double. And it’ll include top brands like Chevrolet, Renault, Volvo, Polestar and Honda.
We do know that Chevy’s newest EVs will use Google Built-in. Those include the Chevy Equinox EV, Blazer EV and Silverado EV. Additionally, the Cadillac Lyriq and GMC Hummer EV already use Android Built-in. So there’s some major traction here.
Having Google Built-in is a big deal for EVs, as it’s going to make it easier for customers to use the built-in maps to find charging stations. As well as know how low the battery will be once they get to the charger. With EVs, they charge faster, the lower they are. So this is a big deal, especially since Google Maps is far better than what car makers build themselves.