NIX Solutions: Android Automotive Will Get More Apps

Developing a good Android app is challenging enough as it is, so it’s no surprise that many developers don’t take the leap and create an app specifically for use in Android-powered cars. After all, developing an app for Android Automotive requires extra care when it comes to security. Because of this, and due to a smaller user base, the Google Play Store for Automotive is much smaller than the Play Store for phones. However, things are set to improve next month.

NIX Solutions

Google has announced that the Automotive Mobile Apps program will be launching next month. The company originally unveiled the program at its I/O developer conference last year. The goal of the program is to expand the number of apps available for download from the Google Play Store in cars running the Android Automotive OS. Essentially, Google is combing the Play Store for mobile apps that are compatible with larger screens and evaluating them to see if they are safe to use in cars.

The Automotive Mobile Apps Program

There are plenty of Android apps that are considered big-screen compatible — meaning they’re optimized for Chromebooks and tablets — but not all of them can be included in the Car-Ready Mobile Apps program. For starters, apps that only support ARM devices won’t make it into the program, since many cars use x86 chips. What’s more, Google says that the initial round of the program will only consider apps in the video, game, and browser categories. To qualify, these apps must meet all of Google’s quality guidelines for those categories.

Apps that don’t meet all of the guidelines may still be eligible if they run in Android’s new Automotive Compatibility Mode. Compatibility Mode is a new software feature available in some cars that provides a back button for apps without a visible back button, displays apps in a designated safe area, scales apps to make them more visible from a distance, and blocks app actions when the car is in drive mode.

Google recently updated its developer page to say that the program will launch next month. Apps that meet the program’s requirements will be downloadable from the Google Play Store into cars running Android Automotive starting in 2025. At I/O, Google said that the mobile app program for cars would support Android Auto, but the developer page only says that Android Auto will add support for these apps “at a later date.”

It will be interesting to see what apps make it into the program when it launches next month. There are plenty of existing video and gaming apps that will work just fine on the head unit of many Android-powered cars. The example Google gave during its announcement — AMC+ — is just one of many streaming services that users can enjoy while their car is charging. We’ll keep you updated on what else appears in the program.

Google has also stated that it plans to expand the program to other app categories in the future, adds NIX Solutions. That means developers working on communication, productivity, or other types of apps may eventually see their work land on the dashboards of Android-powered vehicles. For now, however, only apps that meet the guidelines in video, gaming, and browser categories — or those that run properly in Compatibility Mode — will be considered.