App transforms vehicles’ cabins
It’s a free download that gives drivers a complete infotainment system
For many people, buying a car is more than just looking for horsepower, comfort or handling. With technology filtering into the cabin of vehicles, people are demanding — and getting — more connectivity and tech features than ever before. The car has become a mobile Wi-Fi hot spot, phone and navigation hub and even a DJ booth, all to help make your drive more entertaining and useful.
But these features aren’t standard equipment on most cars, and often you have to pay extra for them with expensive packages that include other systems you may not need. Or, you may have already bought a car that doesn’t include these features, and while you want them, you don’t want to go through the trouble of buying a new infotainment system, not to mention a new car.
Don’t worry! At least, not if you own an Android-based smartphone. You need the latest Android Auto app. Yes, that same Android Auto that’s usually coupled with Apple’s CarPlay app and found on newer infotainment systems in many cars. It’s a system that couples with your phone to easily access features such as navigation, music or calls and texts through your car’s central touch screen.
Even if you don’t have this feature built in to your car, the new Android Auto app will emulate the same interface right on your own smartphone. All you need is Bluetooth connectivity and a USB port for charging. Download the app, plug in the phone and connect to your car; when you activate Android Auto on your phone, you get a screen that offers three simple features: music, navigation and phone.
It’s a clean interface that allows easy selection of the features and simple navigation through the folders of each, with music, phone calls and voice messages streaming through your car’s speakers and Google Maps’ live action on your phone’s screen, which means having a larger phone, such as a Google Pixel, would be helpful.
Best of all, the app comes with OK Google, the “personal assistant” for Android users. Simply say the words “OK Google” and then ask for directions, information — anything. It’s a voice-operated, hands-free way to keep your attention where it needs to be: on the road.
This isn’t an absolutely perfect system; you’ll need a phone running Android 5 or higher, your USB cable will always be snaking around your cupholders, and phone and navigation features are feeding off your phone’s data, so you’ll need a decent plan to cover your usage. If you want to use the radio, that goes through your car, not the phone.
Most important of all: it is absolutely imperative you get a phone holder in your car. You can find decent ones at the dollar store for less than $10, or get something more fancy from various car accessory shops. Regardless of what you find, securing your phone on the dashboard or windshield will save you the fine for distracted driving (which, depending on where you live in Canada, can be more than $1,000), and more importantly, you’ll keep your eyes on the road where they should be.
And, as you do with a regular infotainment system in a car, pull over if you have to input destinations or search for that particular song hidden somewhere deep in your playlists.
All in all, the Android Auto phone app is a great workaround for getting the connected features you want in a car that doesn’t offer them.
And best of all, the app is free! Apple, the virtual ball is in your court.