Android Auto is now powering over 200 million cars

Google has announced a handful of updates for its various software platforms at this year’s I/O event. The company enhanced several of its products like Photos Search, Gmail, Notebook LM, Android, and more with Gemini AI. In addition, the search giant has also introduced a handful of new updates for the Android Auto platform. The brand revealed that Android Auto is now running in over 200 million cars across the world. Notably, there are around 40 car models that now offer the operating system built-in.

Android Auto-powered cars are getting new entertainment apps

During the I/O 2024 event, Google announced that Android Auto-powered over 200 million cars are getting new entertainment apps. The company is bringing new entertainment applications like Max, Peacock, and Angry Birds to the cars that have Google built-in. These should be just the first of a new wave of apps that will come to Android Automotives. The users will be able to enjoy their favorite content with these apps when the car is parked.

Google Cast is coming to cars with Android Automotive OS

Furthermore, Google has announced that Google Cast is coming to all the cars powered by the Android Automotive OS. This functionality will allow you to cast video content from your smartphones or tablets to your car’s infotainment system while parked. The Google Cast feature will be initially available for the vehicles made by Rivian. More cars from other companies will get the cast functionality in the coming months.

Google also introduced the car ready mobile apps program

Apart from the aforementioned updates, Google has also introduced its new car ready mobile apps program. This program will streamline the process of bringing phone applications to cars without any additional effort for developers. The brand promises to review submitted mobile apps that are adaptive to large screens of cars. It will make sure that these apps are safe and compatible with the Android Auto ecosystem.

The car ready mobile apps program will be released in the coming months. It will initially focus on parked applications categories like gaming, video, and browsing. The brand didn’t announce any major upgrades for the phone-based Android Auto.