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Bringing Android to Your Car
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Create Experiences for the Car
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Android Auto provides APIs and tools that your existing apps can leverage to run
+ on any compatible vehicle.
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+
When users connect their Android phone to an Android Auto enabled vehicle, the
- system shows an interface that lets users select compatible apps and services to run.
-
-
Android Auto provides new APIs and tools that your existing Android apps can
- leverage to run on any compatible vehicle. Users interact with your apps through the
- touch screen and the physical buttons on the vehicle’s dashboard. Your apps can also
- respond to voice commands.
+ system shows an interface that lets users select compatible apps and services.
@@ -93,14 +137,32 @@ page.type=about
-
Android Auto is an extension of the Android platform. You can easily adapt
- existing apps for Android Auto and reuse many of the Android APIs and services you
- are already familiar with.
-
The Android Auto platform and SDK let you write your apps only once, without having
+
You can easily adapt existing apps for Android Auto and use many of the APIs you
+ already know.
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Write your apps only once, without having
to worry about vehicle-specific hardware differences like screen resolution, software
interfaces, knobs and touch controls. Your app runs the same on any compatible
vehicle.
+
@@ -114,28 +176,31 @@ page.type=about
We designed Android Auto to minimize driver distraction. Android Auto provides UI
templates for several app categories. These templates define the user interaction model
for any app and follow international best practices for reducing driver distraction.
+
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You can customize these templates to fit your brand and link them to your app’s
content and functionality, instead of building new UIs and testing them for driver
distraction, which is a lengthy and costly process.
Android Auto locks any device that users connect to a compatible vehicle, so drivers
interact with the device using voice actions and the vehicle’s input controls.
-
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-
@@ -79,13 +122,13 @@ you already know.
Android Auto experience on a regular Android device.
-
Design
+
Design
Digital experiences for cars should complement and augment driving, not demand the driver's
attention. Designing these experiences for cars is fundamentally different than in the case of
phones and tablets. It requires rethinking how these experiences unfold.
-
Design Principles
+
Design Principles
Glanceable. We designed Android Auto to reduce UI complexity, optimize user
interactions, and lower cognitive load. Effective apps show just enough information
@@ -105,52 +148,15 @@ that bring personal content and context from other devices are part of Android A
system, creating a truly integrated experience in every car. By using the vehicle's screen and
controls, apps feel tailored to each car.
-
UI Overview
-
-
Android Auto is a new environment that leverages existing UI models where appropiate and adds
-new models based on constrains and context. There are three primary concepts for Android Auto:
-Suggest, a unified place for predictive content; Demand, a
-pervasive way to interact with voice; and the Facets, organized spaces for
-primary activities, apps and content.
-
-
-- Suggest: The Google Facet
--
-Core of continuity and extensibility is contextual stream of Now-like cards, powered by your
-apps and notifications. Relevant, timely, and dynamic, the stream organizes likely people, media,
-places, and information so drivers can quickly continue their activities or start something new.
-Google Now and notifications enable drivers to use the apps and services they know when they are
-most relevant.
-
-- Demand: The Voice Layer
--
-Voice-enabled tasks lets drivers accomplish their goals without taking their eyes off the road.
-Android Auto defines actions and intents that your app can register for.
-These are accessible through both persistent UI elements and dedicated hardware controls.
-
-- Facets and Templates: App-powered activities
--
-In the car, pages of app icons and different UIs create a distracting and dangerous situation.
-Instead, Android Auto apps power templates which help provide simple but customizable UIs
-for common interactions such as media or communications. Templates incorporate common behaviors,
-such as play/pause or reply to a message, while still letting your app promote its value
-and its brand. Apps are organized into facets (or activities) to enable quick access.
-
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Android Auto uses the input and output mechanisms in each vehicle to tailor the interactions.
-Some vehicles have dedicated hardware controls, while others have primarily touch-based systems.
-Android Auto maps common actions and intents across these diverse sets of controls and outputs to
-enable you to concentrate on your unique app experience.
-
Architecture
+
Architecture
The Android Auto app projects your app's customized UI on the vehicle's screen. To communicate
with the Android Auto app, your media app implements a set of media interfaces.
-
+
Figure 1 - Architecture of Android Auto.
@@ -180,7 +186,7 @@ playback state through callbacks.
-
UI Templates
+
UI Templates
The Android Auto app uses a templated UI to display content and user interaction
opportunities. Android Auto provides you with a set of standard UI templates that follow
@@ -192,89 +198,98 @@ multiple legislations across the globe and different standards for each vehicle
media apps. Although you cannot change the standard template format or layout, you can customize
the template colors, action icons, background images, and more.
-
Launch App Template
+
Launch App Template
The Launcher template shows all the compatible media apps installed on the user’s
Android device and lets users select one of them from an scrollable list:
-
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- Figure 2. The Launcher template.
-
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+ Figure 2. The Launcher template.
+
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Primary App Template
+
Primary App Template
After the user selects a media app, the display shows the primary app template. Figure
3 shows the elements of this template that you can customize:
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- Figure 3. The main application template.
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You can customize the primary app template to show your own icons, app name, and
background images. Figure 4 shows an example of a customized template:
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Figure 4. A customized template.
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User Actions
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User Actions
The primary app template supports four main actions on the action bar, four auxiliary actions
on the overflow bar, and the Return action. You can use standard controls and customize
the actions and icons, as shown in Figure 5.
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- Figure 5. Custom icons for auxiliary actions.
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+ Figure 5. Custom extra actions.
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Drawer Transitions
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Drawer Transitions
For browse actions, the display shows the drawer transition and template:
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- Figure 6. The drawer transition.
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After the transition from the primary app template to the drawer template, the drawer
appears on the center. The customized drawer template shows the media containers and
media files provided by the media service in your app. You can also customize drawers
with icons for list items.
-
-
-
- Figure 7. A customized drawer template.
-
+
+
+ Figure 4. Generic and customized drawer templates.
+
-
Day and Night Transitions
+
Day and Night Transitions
All the templates support different color schemes for day and night, as shown in
Figure 8. The platform provides the state (day or night) and makes adjustments automatically.
-
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- Figure 8. Day and night transitions.
-
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-
Customizing Templates
+
Customizing Templates
To customize the templates, provide the following app-specific resources and actions
to the Android Auto media client.
@@ -288,7 +303,7 @@ to the Android Auto media client.
If provided, the media client automatically uses them in the templated UI.
-
Development Process
+
Development Process
Note: When released, the Android Auto SDK will provide
media service interfaces, an APK for handheld devices that simulates the Android Auto
@@ -327,7 +342,7 @@ differences such as screen resolutions, software interfaces, knobs and touch
controls.
-
Testing Your App on an Android Device
+
Testing Your App on an Android Device
The Android Auto SDK includes an APK with a media client implementation, which is
similar to those available in compatible vehicles. To test your app with this
@@ -348,7 +363,7 @@ library and play media. If your app provides app-specific actions, these actions
in the UI controls.
-
Running Your App on Android Auto
+
Running Your App on Android Auto
Media apps are available on the Google Play Store for compatible Android devices.
When users connect their Android device to a compatible vehicle, the
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