Google activates closed betas in the Play Store

Google has announced the start of betas in Android Ato applications: with them, developers will not only be able to polish their mistakes, but also they will have access to more tools to develop their applications. Google says a lot more vehicle-friendly software will be created.

Android Auto is a great way to bring your smartphone screen to your car console with the increased driving safety, but it lacks a detail that will surely annoy its users: compatible applications. And Google is considering how to solve it because it stimulates the development of new apps for Android Auto with the introduction of closed betas. This way, users will have access to many other applications; and developers will have a new way to present their creations to users.

Google Play is now ready for Android Auto beta apps

As we said, it cannot be said that the number of apps compatible with Android Auto is very high, especially in the most important categories of this operating system: driving, navigation and phone control. For example, and although we have a third navigator about to be released in Android Auto (Sygic Navigation), it is currently only possible to get around with the car if you are using Google Maps or Waze. That will change, at least in theory.

Google announced that it already has the testing mechanisms for apps compatible with Android Auto. Divided into three types of betas, this mechanism allows developers to upload their apps to the Android store so that users can test them on the way to correct errors, approve design changes or ensure new features work properly. The ability to download betas from Google Play has been active for years for major types of apps, but until now those for Android Auto were not included.

Thanks to the new beta versions, which will be available soon for developers, they will be able to offer users Android Auto applications in three different ways:

• Internal test. The beta version is only accessible to the developer and his team.
• Closed test. The so-called “closed beta” grants access to users who have an invitation to test the app.
• Open test. The “open beta” allows anyone to download the tested applications; and these can be located with a simple search on Google Play.

Thanks to betas, owners of a vehicle equipped with Android Auto will have access to compatible software much sooner. Too should increase the number of available applications since then, as Google opens the system to developers, it is surely more interested in creating applications suitable for Auto. For example, Google reported three companies that are already testing their apps in beta: T map, PlugShare, and 2GIS.

More information | Google