Android Auto is Ready, Here’s an Expensive Radio to Prove it

So Android Auto, Google’s answer to Apple’s Carplay is finally ready for consumers to buy. It’s been around 9 months since the announcement back in 2014, so all the non-Apple-Fan-People can have a responsive OS in their car. It has all the typical support that you would expect from Android, Maps, calls, music and even text, but into a larger, car-friendly interface. The technology behind this is sort of similar to Samsung’s “S-Beam” where you can ‘beam’ the information from your phone to another applicable screen and then use that new screen to control it.

Car manufacturers aren’t known for their amazing technological implementation speeds, it may take many months before cars start appearing with this as a standard feature. However, some manufacturers promise some existing 2015 models may accept Android Auto through a firmware upgrade. Now just because you have that 2014 Ford Fiesta doesn’t mean you can’t have Android Auto, Pioneer has announced 3 new head units, starting at $700, that will support Android Auto; I’ll just stick to my carputer thanks.

Thank you ArsTechnica for this information.