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I'm looking into Android APIs in order to understand how to add an overlay widget to Andoid Auto but to no avail. I'm not willing to add the widget on the main phone's screen but on the car display/head unit: my purpose is to write a simple widget which overlays the android auto bottom bar and adds a very readable clock (since the embedded one is really small!!!). I've looked into existing tools for this to no avail and can't even find any hint if this is even possible using the APIs to target specifically the second screen used by AndroidAuto.

The reasonable starting point might be the WindowManager with appropriate LayoutParameters but this does not seem to be the right way.

Any hint?

Simone Avogadro
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Android Auto is designed to help minimize distraction so drivers can focus on the road. This means you can't do much, unless you have access to the full Android Auto SDK. Currently, only some big companies have access to the official SDK. There's also an unofficial SDK that allows you to make your own custom apps, but since version 3.0 Android Auto no longer supports launching custom apps.

Chillout
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  • Thanks. I understand that and also the reason behind making "AndroidAuto" (the app) "closed". Because of this my intent is to work at an higher level (OS) and add an overlay message (like the toast notifications). However adding overlay notifications/windows only seems to work with the main display. – Simone Avogadro Aug 01 '19 at 09:58