Honda joins the list of manufacturers that will soon launch a series of models with Android Automotive on board: here's when it will do it
The "conquest" by Android Automotive of the automotive sector continues at a rapid pace. The operating system developed by Google specifically for the world of the four wheels is currently not integrated in many models, but things are destined to change soon.
The rate of adoption of Android Automotive in fact is growing rapidly, and it seems to have triggered a sort of domino effect: the first manufacturers who have adopted it with satisfaction on board of their cars, have been followed by several others - such as Honda - who have announced they want to do the same. So Android Automotive is increasingly preferred as a car management and occupant entertainment system to the operating systems developed by engineers on the payroll of manufacturers, probably because it is more similar to the system that many consumers use daily on smartphones and therefore more able to make them feel comfortable.
Android Automotive on Honda cars: when it arrives
Honda's first cars with Android Automotive will arrive in 2022, but the Japanese automaker has understandably avoided unveiling its cards in advance by revealing which models will use for infotainment and services Google's operating system designed for cars.
The cars already on the market with Android Automotive are not many. In fact, at the moment there are only three: Cadillac Lyriq, the electric SUV that recently went on sale in pre-orders, Volvo XC40 Recharge and Polestar 2. If the latter sounds new to you, know that Polestar is the electric brand of Volvo, which in turn is controlled by the Chinese group Geely.
However, Google has already signed agreements with a number of manufacturers to increase the adoption rate of Android Automotive, which will thus come aboard cars from Ford, General Motors, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi to which now Honda is added with models due out in 2022.
What is Android Automotive
Between Android Automotive and Android Auto, a much more widespread and well-known system, there is a substantial difference from which others derive: Android Automotive is the only operating system of cars that adopt it. In fact, Android Auto overlaps with the car manufacturer's infotainment system, while Android Automotive is the car's infotainment system, the only one.
It follows that, for example, Android Auto necessarily needs an Android smartphone to work while Android Automotive is already active when the car is turned on, even if an iPhone or no smartphone is connected. The latter operating system is much more powerful and complete than the former: it can manage, for example, the air conditioning, even the seats if the car has this equipment, and it can do everything Android Auto is capable of.