Android Automotive will be getting lots of new apps, starting next month

[phillynews215]

• Google is launching its car ready mobile apps program next month.
• This program, announced at I/O 2024 last year, takes existing mobile apps that are large screen compatible and makes them available to cars running Android Automotive.
• We don’t know which apps have been selected for the program, though.

Developing an amazing Android app is already quite challenging, so it’s no surprise that many developers don’t go the extra mile and design their app to work on cars running Android as well. After all, designing an app for Android Automotive requires a lot of extra care given road safety concerns. That, plus the smaller user base, has made the Google Play Store for cars with Google built-in a bit barren compared to the Play Store for handsets, but the app situation is going to get better next month.

That’s because Google has quietly announced that its car ready mobile apps program will launch next month. The company revealed this program at its I/O developer conference last year. The goal is to expand the number of apps available to download from the Google Play Store in cars that run Android Automotive OS. Google has basically been scouring the Play Store for mobile apps that are large-screen compatible and evaluating them to see if they’re safe to use in cars while they’re parked.




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