Waze Is Android Automotive’s 38th App

December 07, 2022 By Aaem Joshi

(Image Credit Google)

Waze, Google's other popular navigation app, will soon be available for Android Automotive. On the Waze blog today, the business revealed the change, writing: "The best real-time navigation, routing, and alerts features from Waze are now available directly in the dashboard of automobiles thanks to a new dedicated Waze app. Driving allows you to enjoy safer and more convenient travel while avoiding the inconvenience of using a smartphone." Google offers two distinct automobile goods with incredibly perplexing branding. Android Auto is the initial one. This is Google's take on CarPlay, an application that runs on your phone but projects a unique automotive interface to the dashboard display of your car, showcasing Google Maps and other compatible Android Auto apps. Since 2017, Waze has been a part of Android Auto. The news made today relates to Android Automotive, a separate offering from Android Auto. The fully spelled-out version of Automotive is an entire operating system rather than just a mobile application. The infotainment computers in cars run Android thanks to the Android Automotive OS (AAOS). Even if you have an iPhone in your pocket, your car's internal computer runs Android rather than Linux or QNX. Waze will be available on the AAOS platform, which offers a car-specific version of the Play Store where you can download programs directly to your vehicle. Android Automotive is somewhat uncommon worldwide, however you'll usually find it on new Volvo/Polestar, Ford, and GM vehicles. Sometimes AAOS is referred to as "cars with Google built-in" by Google or automakers.

On Android Automotive, the app situation is challenging. Due to safety concerns, in-car entertainment systems are highly controlled to the extent that each app and each interface must be approved by regulatory agencies around the world. Because of how challenging, expensive, and time-consuming this is for app developers, there are now just 37 apps for Android Automotive. The complete list is available here. Only media and navigation apps are permitted by AAOS, and even those don't receive their own specialized user interfaces; instead, they just plug into Google's UI with their own branding and audio stream, which lessens the regulatory load but restricts what apps can accomplish. The Waze automobile app has a similar design to the phone app but is larger and has a report button that is extremely significant as well as numerous icons that list user reports for police, construction, and other road dangers. Even a "Still there?" popup, requesting the user to confirm that a previously reported threat is still present, can be seen in the screenshot. Android Auto

Despite developing an app for Google's car OS, Waze is now only making it available for a select few vehicles. According to the business, the app is only available in Europe for "the new Renault Austral Hybrid and Renault Megane E-Tech electric vehicles." Waze claims it will make the new app available to "more users across the globe in 2023," so the strange rollout may have something to do with the numerous regulatory hurdles that automotive apps must address.

By Aaem Joshi

I am a Journalist who loves digging up stories that remain unheard. Strongly Believe in the knowledge of the social world.

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