[ad_1]
In short: After several years of resistance to Android Auto and Google, Toyota has announced that it will start adding Android Auto to its vehicles. The Japanese automaker did not say when Android Auto would be available, nor which model years would have it. All we know is that Toyota will finally add Android Auto, which remains a big deal. Toyota has made Apple CarPlay available on its vehicles for a little over a year, but that's after Apple beat Toyota's tough side.
Context: Toyota had resisted the addition of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to its vehicles as it felt like handing over the keys to these companies. And the reason why this was a big problem for Toyota was that both companies were working on autonomous cars, and Toyota considered them competitors. Now, both are still working on standalone cars – although Google is working more on software and using existing vehicles for hardware. Toyota is probably making sure that Google can only collect certain information from Android Auto on its vehicles, because this is the biggest problem for Toyota, which did not allow Android Auto in the first place.
Impact: This means that those who own a Toyota vehicle will be able to use Android Auto in the near future. Instead of simply mounting their phone to use Android Auto on their phone, they will be able to plug it in and use the car's built-in screen for Android Auto, which offers a much better experience than using your smartphone – because the vehicles usually have a bigger display. Hopefully, Toyota will soon announce which vehicles will benefit from Android Auto support, but it will likely include the Corolla, one of the company's best-selling vehicles (also one of the best-selling vehicles in the US, from all manufacturers ).
Source link
