Android Auto is getting a major upgrade to take on Apple CarPlay — here's how

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Android Machine is getting a major upgrade to take on Apple CarPlay — here's how

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Android Motorcar is getting a massive functionality boost to navigation, parking and charging apps from today.

The upgrade, which is detailed on the Android developers blog, allows 3rd-political party developers to create and publish their own apps in those key areas — significant yous'll soon kickoff seeing them appear on the Google Play Store.

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This opening up of the Android Auto ecosystem had offset been teased final August, with some apps available to examination in beta course over recent months. But from today, developers will be able to push their apps live to the full Play Store.

Until at present, Android Auto has been a rather restrictive platform; Google permitted developers to release messaging and media apps for it, but information technology was otherwise substantially a closed program.

While we appreciated Google's want to create a high-quality user experience, this lack of tertiary-political party support in critical categories led to some pretty big holes in the service'due south feature catalog.

Though flagship navigation apps such Google Maps and Wyze have ever been supported, newcomers to the store already include the likes of T-map, Chargepoint, and A Ameliorate Route Planner. We're particularly partial to Chargepoint, which locates your nearest EV charging station: handy if yous're driving i of the all-time electric cars but are running low on juice.

Of course, Google hasn't opened the floodgates to any and all apps to be thrown onto the Play Store without oversight. Information technology's yet insisting that third-party developers follow its guidelines when making software available via Android Auto, and will likely be quick to human action should any offending apps attempt to gain a place on its digital shopfront.

All in all, this is a pretty significant upgrade to the Android Auto platform that gives users an extra layer of customization and allows some very useful apps into the service. The update comes in the wake of a fresh Spotify' "car affair" leak, which is hoping to rival both Android Automobile and Apple's CarPlay.

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Rory is a staff writer at Tom'south Guide based in the U.k.. He covers a wide range of topics including tech news, deals, gaming, streaming and more. When he's not writing hot takes on the latest gaming hardware and streaming shows, he can be institute watching a borderline unhealthy amount of movies and being thoroughly disappointed by his terrible football game team.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/android-auto-is-getting-a-major-upgrade-to-take-on-apple-carplay-heres-how

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