Android Automotive works independently of your other devices, so you can use it even if you own an iPhone.Īlthough both Android Automotive and Android Auto are both in-vehicle solutions made by Google, Android Automotive has utility outside of software alone. Once connected, Android Auto opens your car’s existing OS up to display certain apps from your phone – navigation, calls, music playback, what have you, without suction cupping it to your windshield or mounting it to your AC vent.

While Android Automotive is a dedicated OS programmed to work with a vehicle’s hardware, Android Auto is a platform within your car’s own native OS – usually developed in-house by the manufacturer – that mirrors supported apps from your phone. Android Automotive OS vs Android Auto Image credit: Google Unlike CarPlay or Android Auto, it isn’t necessarily tethered to your phone, even if they share many of the same accounts to access essential apps like Google Maps and Spotify. Much like the mobile version of Android, you would find pre-installed on a Samsung Galaxy S23, for instance, Android Automotive is a standalone operating system built into the head unit in what is currently a limited selection of vehicles. On the surface, that’s the main difference: Android Auto is powered by your phone and Android Automotive is powered by the car itself.

While services like CarPlay and Android Auto rely on your phone to function, Google has taken a cue from Tesla, building an entire operating system (OS) from the ground up to ensure you’re never without internet, nor is your phone battery going to take a beating from the endless hours spent streaming music and navigating from place to place using Google Maps. Sadly, Google has done us the disservice of putting the burden on our plate to shed light on the real head-scratcher of a conversation that is Android Automotive vs Android Auto. In shopping for a new car, you might have heard terms like ‘Android Auto’ and ‘Android Automotive’ thrown around and assumed they’re the same thing.

With technology taking center stage in modern car production, things like making calls, sending texts, and using apps from your dashboard have increasingly become the norm.

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