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JENNIFER TSAU: Hello, and thanks for joining us today.
I'm Jennifer Tsau, a product management lead,
and I'm joined by David Dandeneau, an engineering lead,
and we're here to share some exciting updates
and opportunities across Android for Cars.
Google has been investing in the automotive industry
for over a decade.
Throughout this time, our vision has remained constant--
to bring safe and seamless connected experiences to cars.
The automotive industry is in the midst
of significant transformation across both hardware
and software.
Today's cars are equipped with large, beautiful displays,
quiet cabins, and amazing sound systems,
making them feel like living rooms on wheels.
And the driving experience is increasingly
defined by software and connectivity,
helping to make it safer and more convenient.
With voice assistance and real-time route optimization,
drivers can keep their eyes on the road and hands
on the wheel.
And access to a growing number of apps and services
makes it easier than ever to stay in touch
and entertained on the road.
Perhaps most transformative of all,
cars actually get better over time
with over-the-air software updates
that provide new experiences and improvements.
When you couple these technological advancements
with the fact that American drivers spend nearly an hour
a day in the car, there's more opportunity than ever
for developers to bring apps to cars.
Across our automotive product suite,
we're reaching scale and continuing to grow.
Android Auto allows drivers to connect their Android phone
to the car to access their favorite apps right
on the display.
The new Android Auto is now available to all,
and the feedback from drivers has been really positive.
The split-screen design adapts to a variety of screen sizes
and orientations, including landscape, portrait,
or extra large.
This provides more information at a glance,
and has improved functionality like smart suggestions,
missed call reminders, quick ETA sharing, and instant access
to music or podcasts.
And we're excited to announce that Android Auto will
be available in about 200 million vehicles this year.
If you haven't tried the new Android Auto,
check it out on your next drive.
To make the phone even more helpful,
digital car key allows drivers to do things like lock, unlock,
and even start their car with select Android phones.
With ultra-wideband support, drivers
can do all that hands free, and they can securely
share keys with friends and family,
even those with iPhones.
This experience is coming to more phones and car brands
in the future.
Beyond projecting from the phone,
we've seen strong adoption of our open-source platform,
Android Automotive OS, and many car manufacturers
are now offering models with Google built in.
This embedded solution integrates Google Assistant,
Google Maps, and Google Play directly into cars.
The Google built-in experience connects with car systems
and sensors so drivers can do more hands free in the car,
like change the temperature or get real-time range
information.
With Google Play built in, developers
can distribute and update apps just like they would
on any other Android surface.
Many top car manufacturers already offer models
with this experience, and all of these brands
will have cars with Google built in available this year,
including the Chevrolet Blazer EV, the Lincoln Nautilus, Volvo
EX90, Polestar 3, and more.
Now I'm going to hand it over to David
to talk about new apps and experiences across Android
for Cars.
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DAVID DANDENEAU: The flexibility of the Android platform
allows developers to create unique experiences
that help drivers and passengers safely
navigate to their destination, stay
connected to the world around them,
and access a variety of entertainment.
We think about these in terms of driving experiences and parked
and passenger experiences.
First, we're going to talk about apps designed for driving.
From the beginning, our focus has been on helping drivers
while they're driving, and these are some of the app categories
that aim to serve those needs.
Navigation continues to be the top use case.
Now it's possible for navigation apps
to integrate with the instrumentation cluster,
providing turn by turn direction right in the driver's
line of sight.
And developers can also access more car sensor data
to surface helpful information like range,
fuel level, and speed.
This allows for proactive suggestions
like when a charging stop is necessary
or when there are speed limit changes.
During the drive, media apps help drivers
stay entertained and informed with music, podcasts, news,
and audiobooks.
Apps like Spotify, Deezer, and SoundCloud
are available in cars with Google built in, with Audible
being the latest addition.
If you have a media app, it's easier than ever
to bring your app to both Android Auto and Android
Automotive OS.
While we'd all love to listen to music
or catch up on our favorite podcast during our commute,
sometimes traffic or work has other plans.
That's why we've been working with partners like Zoom,
Microsoft Teams, and Cisco so you
can join a scheduled meeting without fumbling
for your phone.
These partners all leverage Android telephony APIs
to bring calling to Android Auto.
Calling with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco Webex
will be coming soon, with more to follow.
Staying on top of things at home and the weather
while driving can deliver peace of mind.
To keep people connected to their smart homes
from the road, developers in the internet of things category,
like Home Assistant, can now build and submit
apps for Android Auto and Android Automotive OS.
For weather, the weather and radar app is already available,
and the Weather Channel will be available later this year.
In addition to bringing more apps to help drivers
while driving, we're also focused
on bringing new experiences while parked
and for passengers.
As screens expand across the entire dashboard,
front-seat passengers will be able to assist
with navigation, choose entertainment
options, and more.
And screens in other parts of the car, like the rear seat,
provide new ways for passengers to engage and enjoy
personalized apps.
This includes being able to share experiences
across screens.
The new in-car technology unlocks opportunities
for developers, car makers, and users,
so we're excited to announce multi-screen support is coming
to Android Automotive OS 14.
Video apps are ideal for large screens
and multi-display setups, and we've
been working to expand the variety of video apps in cars.
To accelerate this, we're making it easier
for you to bring your tablet apps to the car.
Joining existing video apps, YouTube
is launching in cars with Google built in,
starting with Polestar and Volvo cars, with more to follow soon.
Beyond video, we're also bringing experiences
like browsing to the car.
Developers can now bring browser apps to the car,
allowing drivers to do more while charging or waiting
for curbside pickup.
In addition to video and browser apps in the car,
we're also enabling gaming apps.
We rolled out GameSnacks for Android Auto,
and as we approach a million gamers per month,
we're excited to bring more gaming experiences to Android
Automotive OS.
We're bringing eight more popular titles
from FRVR, Vector Unit, and Outfit7
to cars with Google built in.
This is a rapidly expanding category and an exciting space
for game developers to reach and engage the audience.
Lots of momentum and updates.
Now I'm going to share more about
how you can bring these experiences to life in the car.
If you're a developer interested in bringing apps designed
for the car, the Car App Library allows
you to build driving-safe apps compatible with both Android
Auto and Android Automotive OS.
Check out the Car App Library fundamentals Codelab
to learn more.
One app already available in Android Auto
and now coming to cars with Google built in is Waze.
Thanks to the Car App Library, Waze
revamped the app for easier scaling and implementation.
Let's listen to Adam Fried, head of Waze product partnership,
on how they did it.
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ADAM FRIED: Thanks, David.
Hi, everyone.
I'm excited to share how our revamped Waze app was
built with the Car App Library.
We were drawn to the Car App Library
because it enables us to have a unified code
base across Android Auto and Android Automotive OS.
This allowed us to resolve gaps in feature parity
and save development time and resources.
Now we'll be able to easily maintain our code base
and scale into the future.
The Car App Library enabled us to provide users with the Waze
features they know and love through helpful components
and templates.
For example, Waze users submit real-time reports
on what's happening on the roads like traffic jams, road
closures, and potholes.
It is features like these that make Waze special,
and it's important that users can easily
use them on their car screens.
The Car App Library enabled us to deliver
these unique real-time features to our users
across both embedded and projected experiences.
By simplifying our development through the Car App Library,
we're able to focus more time on adding new features,
particularly in the EV space.
This March, we launched EV charging stations
on our mobile app.
And today, we are excited to announce support
for EV charging stations through the in-car experience.
With more electric vehicles on the road,
we know it can be frustrating when
charging stations are hard to find
or information is inaccurate.
Since charging often takes longer than refueling, finding
the relevant plug types and charging locations
is really important.
Waze map editors who volunteer their time
to help us keep local information as up to date
as possible, validate charging stations,
add details on where to access them,
and confirm information like plug types and operating hours.
This unique capability of the Waze community
allows us to share up to date information with EV drivers
so they can have a more reliable drive.
We have one more exciting announcement to share.
Today we are launching Waze in the Google Play Store
globally for all vehicles that support Android Automotive
OS with Google built in.
We're thrilled to unlock Waze for even more drivers today
who will now be able to experience the best of Waze
real-time navigation, routing, and alerts featured directly
from the car's display.
And if you've already used Waze on a smartphone,
all of your settings are presaved and ready
for you on your first drive.
Now, none of this would be possible
without our passionate volunteers and partnerships
with automakers.
Our community of Waze map editors
keep our map up to date, and our beta testers
help test the features we're sharing with all of you.
And thanks to automakers, we continue
to discover new ways to help drivers and bring Waze
to more places.
And of course, we also want to take a minute
to thank our users.
The more users report, the more they're
able to help other drivers on the road,
and that's what Waze is all about.
Now I'm going to hand it back to Jennifer.
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JENNIFER TSAU: Thanks, Adam.
As you can see, Waze has taken a thoughtful approach
by utilizing the platform tools and the Android for Cars App
Library to ensure Waze can continue
to bring more features to more drivers across all form
factors.
If you're building apps for passenger and parked
experiences, it's now possible to bring your video, game,
and browser apps from tablets to cars
and distribute directly via Play.
We're working to make the migration even faster
for developers.
And there's another technical session
called "Developing High-Quality Apps
for Large Screens and Foldables" to check out
if you're interested.
Across both driving and parked experiences,
doing things hands-free in the car is important.
With voice support for App Actions,
you can more easily add more Google Assistant voice
interactions with your app.
To learn more, you should check out the Codelabs
on App Actions on developers.google.com.
We covered a lot of new opportunities
for you to bring your apps to cars today.
If you're ready to get started, go to g.co/androidforcars
to learn more.
On behalf of our presenters today
and the whole Android for Cars team, thank you for your time.
We're excited to partner with you
to bring new app experiences to drivers across the globe.
See you on the road.
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