so you can use any Android Auto or Apple CarPlay app

Tesla is undoubtedly the benchmark brand when it comes to electric cars. But what we usually talk about less, even if it’s no secret, is that it is also the first brand of connected cars. Elon Musk’s company’s automotive software is one of the most popular in the industry and it is totally deserved.

The company’s OTA update policy not only allows fix software errors without having to take the car to the workshop, It also includes new features long after you buy the car. However, it is not perfect software and has a flaw that many buyers miss.

We are referring to the inclusion in the models of this brand of compatibility with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Tesla seamlessly integrates mobile phones with its cars via Android and iOS apps, but It does not allow you to use smartphone applications from the car with an interface like that of most other cars on the market.. The reason is that Tesla wants users of its cars to use its own software, not that of other companies.

Fortunately There are projects that allow you to have Android Auto or Apple CarPlay in Tesla cars. Some are software, although they depend on the company not supporting certain functions or the application server working. Others are hardware and simulate the environment required by these systems to operate and which Tesla cars do not have.

The final hardware proposal to make this a reality is the one provided with Teslogic Screenmate, a device that transforms the Tesla screen interfaceThis is a Kickstarter project that has been hugely successful since it requested $50,000 in funding and has already raised ten times that much. Its starting price is $549.

Screenmate

Alvarez del Vayo

This project comes from a company, Teslogic, which has integration with the car but uses the smartphone as a secondary screen for Teslas which do not have a screen behind the steering wheel. As many of their customers demanded the ability to use Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, they took action and created Screenmate.

This product is installed by connecting it to the car, both to its control unit and to the power supply to obtain electricity. In this way it is able to allow the use of the vehicle’s own interface or use a new one in which we can see many of the applications that we have on our mobile. The new interface also allows using the car’s normal options, such as opening the doors, trunk and even connecting a console via an HDMI port, to use the car’s screen as an external monitor. This is a full Android system with Android 14 which also allows the use of Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

All vital vehicle information can be kept on the dashboard from the top of your apps. In this area you can see the current speed, speed limit, blind spot warnings, battery charge and much more. And if we want, we can drag this part of the interface to place it in another area. In the upper central area, notifications from applications such as WhatsApp will be displayedin case we want to read them when we are not driving, or ask the co-pilot to do so.

One of the most curious new features is to have a shortcut panel similar to that of smartphones in the left area. When you slide to this side, many buttons appear which are accesses to perform actions, such as opening the glove box, doors, trunks, controlling the temperature or air flow, heating or ventilating the seats, etc. . In addition, We can share videos and photos from the phone using AirPlay or Android Screen Mirroring.

The source code of the Screenmate application, which allows communication with the car, will be available on the company’s GitHub page, so that anyone can inspect it and other developers can create new options. In fact, the company assures that the Better community offerings, such as dashboards, controls and scripts, will be added to the device. Of course, it is possible to use Screenmate to connect an iPhone or Android mobile to use applications directly on the Tesla screen. Unlike other proposals, it is not a web interface, but rather occupies the entire width of the screen.

The only hardware item sold separately in this project is a front camera integrated into the Screenmate interface. This camera will be available for purchase later on the company’s website, when Screenmate begins shipping to its buyers throughout 2025.

Screenmate cuenta con un procesador Qualcomm 680, 8 GB de memoria RAM y 128 GB de memoria interna. Esto lo convierte en un dispositivo con Android de base, aunque además sea capaz de replicar Android Auto. Tiene un puerto HDMI además de un puerto USB de datos, una ranura para microSD y otra para poner una SIM. Esto le permitiría tener conectividad sin depender del móvil. Hay que tener en cuenta que la conectividad de los Tesla depende de la propia empresa y Screenmate no puede usarla, aunque se pague la conectividad premium.