Google I/O 2017 is just full of surprises, and our friends over at SlashGear were able to see a major surprise at close quarters – please open your eyes to the beauty that is Embedded Android on Audi’s concept car. Take note, this is not Android Auto, but a fully embedded Android operating system on the car’s infotainment system.
Android Auto is really more of a projection system – it needs a phone with installed apps, and it projects the apps onto the vehicle’s dashboard. Embedded Android is running on the car’s own systems, and requires no connected phone. But the biggest plus for automakers probably is this – Embedded Android gives them more control over how to implement Android and how the whole system looks. Check out the video below.
On Audi’s concept car, there are three displays – the main touchscreen display on the center of the dashboard, below that there’s a touchscreen that has climate controls. The third is the virtual cockpit which is has your speed, gas, and other car system readouts. Google says that the virtual cockpit is a safety issue as well, because we really can’t have the OS crash and kill the readout while speeding down the interstate, can we?
It’s really not that hard to see that car manufacturers will love Embedded Android more. Google will be happy that this is really Android that’s running, but automakers will be confident that it will look exactly how they want it to look. Users get to have access to apps already available in Google Play, so it’s a win-win all around. What will happen to Android Auto, though?
VIA: SlashGear
