Android Automotive with an important change. It’s strange that it’s only now
Google is introducing a new category of apps for cars equipped with the Android Automotive system. With this update, owners of cars with the Google system will be able to install apps that have always been missing here.
The Communication tab will bring VoIP applications
Millions of people around the world use Android in their cars, whether through Android Auto, which connects to the car’s head unit, or through the operating system built into the car’s head unit (Android Automotive OS). Google also strictly limits the range of apps available for these platforms for driver safety reasons. One of the more severe limits has just been lifted.
A Communication category will appear in the application catalog, which will include messaging applications (those were already present) and VoIP applications for making voice calls. This is a gateway to the emergence of calls made via WhatsApp or Zoom directly from the car’s on-board computer.
On Android Auto, messaging apps can only read messages aloud using text-to-speech or send voice replies. So they’re not full-fledged apps, but more like mini-services. It’s likely that apps in the Communications tab on Android Automotive OS will be burdened with similar restrictions, at least in driving mode. When the car is stationary, the apps will likely be fully functional
