What times those in which your car’s console showed what it was playing and that’s it. If you had a high-end car, it might even have GPS navigation. Today, on-board computers offer a few alternatives and faced with the dichotomy between Android and Apple telephones, in vehicles the paths merge and fork for the former with another actor on the scene: Android Automotive. What do Android Auto and Android Automotive have in common and how are they different? In this article, we help you solve it so you can choose the best one for your car.
Let’s start with the introductions.
What is Android Auto?
Android Auto is a Google application that allows Mirror your Android phone to your car’s infotainment system. Stick with the previous sentence because that’s the crux of the matter.
If you have Android Auto on your mobile, you can connect it to your vehicle via cable or with Bluetooth. Of course, as long as your car (or your radio) is compatible with Android Auto.
Let’s talk about compatibility as it will give us an idea of how it works and which users can access this system. To find out which vehicles and audio devices support Android Auto, you can check the official Google list. As for phones with Android Auto, Google Support says any smartphone or tablet with Android 6 or higher can run the latest version…but you’ll also need a data plan.
If you want to connect your device wirelesslythe requirements increase: you will need a phone with Android 11 or higher (exceptions: a Samsung or Google phone with Android 10 and any Samsung Galaxy Note 8, S8 or S8+ with Android 9) and that your car is compatible with Android Auto wireless mode, only available for models from 2020 (or if it is a BMW, from 2019).
What is Android Automotive?
Android automotive interface
Android Automotive comes pre-installed on your car’s computer and works independently, so you don’t need an Android phone to manage it. Of course, Android Automotive is based on the same open-source operating system that you can find on any Android device.
As Google explains, it’s the car manufacturers that integrate Android Automotive into their models. Come on, it’s not like buying a tablet for the occasion, integrating it into the dashboard and saying it has Android Automotive. Despite the fact that Google announced it in 2017, most of the vehicles that make it up date from 2021.
Manufacturers who opt for Android Automotive have the possibility to customize it by adding Google Automotive Service or not. In practice, having or not having GAS implies being able to install third-party applications available in the Google Play Store. If your Android Automotive does not have GAS, only third-party applications may be preloaded or approved by the vehicle manufacturer.
Differences, similarities and which one is better
After this review, we can conclude that what Android Automotive and Android Auto have in common is that they both have as an Android base and which allow us to make the most of the console of our car with different navigation, entertainment and messaging applications.
This is where the differences begin that can tip the balance one way or the other depending on our priorities and needs.
Apps. Android Auto wins by a landslide in terms of the number of apps available in the Google Play Store compared to the brief apps section for Android Automotive, plus the occasional APK supplement outside the official store. That Android Auto is the mirror of our phone has good things like being able to replicate applications as common in our daily lives as Spotify, Waze or WhatsApp.
what can you do. With Android Automotive it is possible to control the configuration of our car, such as the air conditioning system, door locks, windows or even audio functions. For example, you can tell Android Automotive that your car is cold so it can regulate the air conditioning. Android Auto falls far below with more basic functions that aren’t built into the car’s system, like hands-free calling, music playback, navigation or the time.
Compatibility. With Android Automotive, you don’t have to worry about which phone you own, because you can enjoy its services from the car, that is, you can have an Android or an iPhone without any problem. With Android Auto you have the limitation that it is an Android mobile. Of course, there are few cars compatible with Android Automotive.
Battery. Having your car console connected to your phone in Android Auto has a direct consequence: you consume its resources, so unless you opt for a wired connection, using Android Auto can consume your phone’s battery.
Look to the future. Today, few vehicles integrate the Android Automotive system, unlike Android Auto (with more than 500 models). Before we mentioned how “lucky” you are with Android Automotive not to be dependent on your mobile since you have more freedom of choice, but this has a downside: cars last much longer than a mobile phone and with Android Automotive, we will be inextricably linked to the manufacturer’s care to maintain the interface, update it and provide it with greater functionality. With Android Auto, we can change our phone and even if our console is old or not compatible with Android Auto, we can update our car with a radio compatible with Android Auto at a reasonable price.
¿Android Auto or Android Auto? Major automakers have joined the Open Automotive Alliance, pledging to integrate Android into their cars. Or what amounts to the same thing, that neither Android Auto nor Android Automotive is in danger of disappearing. Although the Automobile is currently starting from a disadvantaged position, the possibility of personalization by the manufacturer plays in its favor. On the other hand, Android Auto’s strength and differential for the strong future is to be more affordable and easily accessible.
