• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Exclusive

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

An hour in the Oval Office with President Trump.

TechGoogle

Google Wants to Do More Behind Your Wheel

By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 19, 2016, 7:29 AM ET
2016
2016Screenshot of Google presentation

Google is pushing deeper into the automotive industry with an update to Android Auto that will add popular features and make the connected car platform accessible to users who were previously shut out of the app. And that’s just Android Auto news.

The search engine giant also wants the next generation of Android to be the operating system that runs everything in future cars, including the heating and cooling, navigation, and music—even the speedometer, fuel gauge, and other parts of the digital instrument cluster.

At Google’s annual developer conference on Wednesday, the company announced a number of new features to Android Auto, an in-car software platform that brings the functionality and feel of a smartphone to the vehicle’s central screen. Google (GOOGL) said it is adding the popular crowdsourcing map Waze to Android Auto as well as “hotwording,” which lets drivers activate voice functionality by saying “OK, Google.”

Users will soon be able to operate Android Auto wirelessly by syncing to the central screen through a car’s built-in Wi-Fi network. Since Android Auto launched last year, users have had to plug their smartphones into the car’s USB port to integrate the phone’s music, maps and navigation, and selected apps onto the central screen. All of these features will be rolled out over the next several months, Google said.

The company also said it will now allow major automakers to use the Android Auto platform to build their own apps for car-related services. Hyundai is the first to launch an Android App, which adds vehicle-specific functionality like access to roadside assistance and car diagnostics.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Perhaps the most immediate impactful change is that Android Auto will now be available to anyone, even if they drive a car that isn’t compatible with the platform. Audi, BMW, GM (GM), Kia, Ford (F), Hyundai, Volvo, and Volkswagen all have signed partnerships with Google (and rival Apple (AAPL) in many cases) to add their connected car platforms to new model cars. But that has left millions of other vehicles, and their drivers, without access to the platform.

Google also said Wednesday it’s bringing the Android Auto experience to the phone screen, no new car required. Users will have access to all the same features as in-car Android Auto, including voice-enabled calling, media, messaging and navigation with a new driver-friendly interface. The on-phone experience will be available later this year with an update to the Android Auto app.

Here’s what else Google announced at its annual developer conference:

Google is also making a significant long-term play in automotive. It’s tweaked the next generation of Android so that automakers can use the open source operating system to create a customized, turn-key infotainment system that controls HVAC, navigation, AM/FM, media streaming, Bluetooth calling and media streaming, multichannel audio, and digital instrument clusters.

Android Auto is in cars, but it’s not an operating system; it’s the HMI layer—or a secondary interface—that sits on top of the operating system. The new version of Android is essentially dashboard-friendly, meaning it makes it easy for automakers to use it to create an infotainment platform for their cars.

Google partnered with Qualcomm, which is supplying the chips to power the system, to demonstrate at the developer conference what this might look like. The companies retrofitted a Maserati Ghibli luxury sedan with a vertical 15-inch touchscreen that displays a new infotainment user interface and apps from Google and the Android developer ecosystem.

For now, the Android in-car infotainment system is just a concept. Automakers have not made any formal agreements to use Android. A Google spokeswoman told Fortune that automakers were actually pushing for this. If they do bite, that means companies like QNX, a subsidiary of Blackberry (BBRY) that has largely dominated the infotainment software market, faces a new huge competitor.

About the Author
By Kirsten Korosec
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

haidt
AIGen Z
A record number of 18-year-olds are set to graduate into an economy designed against them
By Nick LichtenbergMay 18, 2026
16 minutes ago
A panel on Gen Z workers sit alongside Fortune's Kristin Stoller at the Fortune Workplace Innovation Summit.
NewslettersFortune Workplace Innovation
AI in the workplace is stumbling. Fortune’s Workplace Innovation Summit will dive in to why
By Kristin StollerMay 18, 2026
1 hour ago
charlie
CommentarySoftware
Anaplan CEO: AI isn’t eating software. It’s sorting it
By Charlie GottdienerMay 18, 2026
2 hours ago
Carl Fritjofsson smiles in a blue t-shirt
Startups & VentureTerm Sheet
The AI boom is pulling Europe’s hottest startups to the U.S.—whether they planned to move or not
By Lily Mae LazarusMay 18, 2026
3 hours ago
SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell in Barcelona, Spain on March 2, 2026. (Photo: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
What to expect from a SpaceX IPO
By Andrew NuscaMay 18, 2026
4 hours ago
How a mom-and-pop car wash chain went from sticky notes to AI-powered operations that are upleveling every part of the company
AIAutomation
How a mom-and-pop car wash chain went from sticky notes to AI-powered operations that are upleveling every part of the company
By Sage LazzaroMay 18, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
AI
Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
2 days ago
The top foreign holders of U.S. debt may soon dump Treasury bonds and bring their money back home, potentially spiking borrowing costs
Economy
The top foreign holders of U.S. debt may soon dump Treasury bonds and bring their money back home, potentially spiking borrowing costs
By Jason MaMay 17, 2026
20 hours ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
6 days ago
'No one was coming to save me': How Reese Witherspoon built a $900 million company from a problem Hollywood wouldn't fix
Success
'No one was coming to save me': How Reese Witherspoon built a $900 million company from a problem Hollywood wouldn't fix
By Sydney LakeMay 17, 2026
1 day ago
SpaceX heads into a record-shattering IPO with the 'deepest moat that exists today' as investors vow to 'never bet against Elon'
Innovation
SpaceX heads into a record-shattering IPO with the 'deepest moat that exists today' as investors vow to 'never bet against Elon'
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
2 days ago
Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 
Politics
Former top Russian official admits the country is over Putin and can 'imagine a future without him' — even elites bail as Kremlin seizes their assets 
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.