If you’ve been waiting and waiting for Google to finally add support for Android Auto for your car, we have good news and bad news. The good news is that they have finally added the smartphone projection interface but the bad news is that you’ll have to buy a new car to experience is. That’s because the support will only arrive for newer models, like the recently announced 2020 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro which was just recently launched at the Chicago Auto Show.
Unlike a lot of other car brands that have jumped into the smartphone interface technologies, Toyota is somewhat of a late bloomer, or rather, a late adaptor. It was only this 2018 that they started supporting Apple CarPlay and now a year later, we finally get Android Auto support as well. The reason for the latter was they wanted to make sure that data privacy issues were being taken care of.
What Toyota is planning to do now is to add Android Auto as part of the infotainment system for its upcoming new cars which will have support for Apple Car Play, Amazon Alexa, and of course Android Auto. The aforementioned 2020 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro will be the first to get this upgraded system and then eventually the TRD Pro family. They will come with either 7-inch or 8-inch touchscreens.
As for other Toyota lines, they will also be probably adding support for future models of the Corolla, Camry, and RAV4 families. But if you’re hoping that your current Toyota car will get an upgrade or at least the option to upgrade (and pay), unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be in their plans for now. So either you get a new car or you try to find a workaround through accessories you can attach to your car’s dashboard.
VIA: SlashGear
