Android Automotive
Android Automotive (aka Android Automotive OS or AAOS) is a variation of Google's Android operating system, tailored for its use in vehicle dashboards. Introduced in March 2017, the platform was developed by Google and Intel, together with car manufacturers such as Volvo and Audi. The project aims to provide an operating system codebase for vehicle manufacturers to develop their own version of the operating system. Besides infotainment tasks, such as messaging, navigation and music playback, the operating system aims to handle vehicle-specific functions such as controlling the air conditioning.
Android Automotive running on a Polestar 2 | |
| Developer | |
|---|---|
| OS family | Android, Linux |
| Initial release | March 2017 |
| Latest release | Android Automotive 14 / 4 October 2023 |
| Official website | https://built-in.google/cars/ |
In contrast to Android Auto, Android Automotive is a full operating system running on the vehicle's device, not relying on a smartphone to operate. As such, it has access to a limited number of apps on the Google Play Store, with this list growing over time.
Android Automotive is an open source operating system and, as such, a car manufacturer can use it without the Google Automotive Services (GAS), which are a collection of applications and services (Google Maps, Google Play, Google Assistant, etc.) that OEMs can license and integrate into their in-vehicle infotainment systems. Volvo, Renault, Ford and GM are using AAOS with GAS (advertised as "Cars with Google built-in" by Google).