Let's Get This Droid On The Road

My talk at Droidcon London 2022

1. Let's get this Droid on the road Al Sutton @alsutton
2. Android Auto Android Automotive OS Android in cars
3. Google Assistant in Driving Mode Android in cars
4. Android Auto - projected
5. Android Auto > More than 500 models of car and stero > Most new cars come with Android Auto > Android Auto makes upgrading infotainment systems a lot easier, if you know it’s there. > Android Auto is not always easy to configure. > Android Auto is as reliable as the head unit implementation.
6. In-car apps market > More than 100M cars on the road with Auto. > More integrated experience beyond the phone screen > Android Auto apps can be easily adapted to AAOS
7. In-car apps market > More than 100M 150M cars on the road. > More integrated experience beyond the phone screen > Android Auto apps can be easily adapted to AAOS 150+
8. In-car apps market > 100m went to 150m in less than a year > 2021 was a bad year for car sales > In the UK, in 2021, sales were down ~30% YoY > Roughly 75 million cars are sold per year in “normal” times 150+
9. Android Automotive OS - embedded
10. Taken from https://developer.android.com/guide/platform Android “Automotive” OS Vehicle HAL Car apps Car APIs
11. Taken from https://source.android.com/devices/automotive Android And Android Automotive OS
13. AAOS Adoption
14. Android Automotive OS > It is the cars infotainment system, there’s nothing to configure. > No potential device/head-unit compatibility issues. > Car manufacturers can optimise the system to avoid latency. > When the car is parked, it’s like a large tablet. > Google-less is far more common than in auto.
15. In-car apps market > More than 10 models of car with AAOS > Relatively new to consumers, but gaining traction > Supports Auto apps with minimal, or no, modifications
16. Do you need GAS?
17. Android Automotive OS - GAS or No GAS AAOS with GAS AAOS GAS-less
18. GAS > The car equivalent of GMS/Play Services > Adds lots of Google services > Not in a number of cars > Depending on it will limit your potential market
19. Non-GAS > Google isn’t the only option > Some large manufacturers are non-Google > Some modifications will be necessary for templates > Try to not query Google Services; It will generate misleading log messages.
20. OEM Level > Anything is up for grabs > They’re actively looking for partners > They want their cars to be different > Dream big, don’t be afraid to try wild ideas
21. Apps for Auto and AAOS
22. When a when is what you need
23. Templates > Focused on “on the move” use cases > Designed to be distraction free > Code templates, not UI templates > UI is branded by the car OEM
24. Constraints > Only few categories of apps allowed
25. Constraints > Only few categories of apps allowed > Limited set of templates available
26. Constraints > Only few categories of apps allowed > Limited set of templates available > Limited customisation
27. Constraints > Only few categories of apps allowed > Limited set of templates available > Limited customisation > Constraints on data that can be showed Place List template Presents an ordered list of up to 6 locations
28. Apps for AAOS Designing for cars
29. Without templates > Immersive Experience > Designed for use when not on the move > Streaming, gaming, etc. are popular categories > Electric Vehicles add charger time to the list of scenarios
30. Developing for AAOS - Hardware
31. Developing for AAOS - Hardware
32. Developing for AAOS - Hardware
33. > Just a screen, like Fire TV > No remote control > No motion sensors > No guaranteed connectivity! Rear seat entertainment
34. Car Data
35. > Lots of car specific properties > Designed for car reactive apps > Not implementation guarantees > OEMs can add other stuff Car Properties
36. Car Properties
37. > You can develop in-repo > You can use an overlay APK > How much customisation? > Taking in from upstream The Launcher, etc.
38. Tips
39. Car vs Phone UI
40. Car UI - Landscape
41. Reach for the tap
42. Test and iteration: Emulator / Tablet
43. Test and iteration: On the road > Network errors > Real life use cases > Interactions on the road
44. Q & A
45. Thank you! Al Sutton @alsutton