Introduction to Android Auto

I am Timothy Jordan, and this is an introduction

to Android Auto.

Commuters in the US spend an average of one hour a day

in their car, and a person checks their smartphone

an average of 125 times per day.

Now, cars get us where we're going,

while our phones keep us connected.

But using your phone while driving can be distracting.

In fact, 25% of accidents in the US

are caused by people fumbling with their phones.

What if you could stay connected using your phone,

but in a safer and more convenient

way that's integrated with your car?

And better yet, what if developing

for this new platform was easy and familiar?

Welcome to Android Auto, bringing Android to the car.

It's the same platform you already

use for phones, tablets, televisions, watches, and more.

In fact, all these experiences will often be in the same APK.

But now, your app can also extend

to the car in a way that's safer and more

efficient for the driver, so they can stay connected,

but with their hands on the wheel

and their eyes on the road.

Now, using Android Auto is easy.

Users go to the Google Play Store and download apps

onto their phone that support Android Auto.

They then connect their phone to the car.

The phone goes into Car mode and casts the Android Auto

experience to the car's screen.

Now, this means that although all the apps and services are

actually running on the phone, they're

displayed in the car's dash.

And you can interact with them using the vehicle's controls,

such as a built-in touchscreen and microphone.

You know what?

Let me show you how this works.

So I'm here in the Android Auto building,

where the team's getting some developer

tools ready for all of us.

Now, let's see if I can find Daniel and borrow his car.

Hey, Daniel.

DANIEL: Hey, Timothy.

TIMOTHY JORDAN: How's it going?

DANIEL: Good times for Android Auto developers.

Getting ready for the launch.

Hey, the jet pack's working!

So I'm sitting in a brand new Kia Soul.

And some people like this car for the panoramic sunroof.

I like it for Android Auto.

I'm going to connect my phone to the car.

And you'll see it goes into Car mode.

I'll touch here, and Android Auto starts up in the car.

Cool, huh?

Now, this is the overview screen.

It's where you start, and it contains contextual cards

based on the location, the time of day, and more.

It's also the place where I can find my notifications.

The activity bar is here at the bottom,

and it contains a set of common actions--

Navigation, Communication, Audio, and car-related stuff.

You'll also notice the microphone up here

in the corner.

I'll get back to that in a moment.

But first, let's play some music.

Let's tap here and play this song.

You'll notice that even though I'm in someone else's car,

everything is running on my phone.

So it's all my stuff, from my notifications

to my Play music account.

Anyhow, right now we're in the App view.

Now, this is one of the most interesting things for you

as a developer, because this is where your app lives.

For user interface consistency and to ensure

that all apps adhere to the same safety guidelines,

the Android Auto framework will display your app

in the standard UI template.

Now, this is also what makes it so easy

to extend your app for Auto.

You don't need to worry about the wide variety of display

configurations, resolutions, different input

controls, or even that much about driver distraction.

You just provide resources, such as image assets, strings, color

palette, and supported playback controls

to customize your app without having

to define the entire user interface yourself.

Oh, hey, look, a text message from Wayne.

I'll just tap it to play.

ANDROID: Hey, Timothy.

I hear you lifted an Android Auto car.

Wanna ghost-ride it?

TIMOTHY JORDAN: Now, this is the other really interesting thing

for you as a developer right now-- message notifications.

You can take advantage of these by using the Car extender

in the same way you use the Wearable extender

for Android Wear.

Now, the last thing I want to show you

is the voice interface, which is where

I can reply to text messages or search.

I just need to tap the microphone

in the top right of the screen.

Define "joy riding."

ANDROID: Joy riding-- the action or practice

of driving fast and dangerously in a stolen car for enjoyment.

TIMOTHY JORDAN: [LAUGHS] This thing is awesome.

All right.

Let's head back to the studio and wrap this up.

Just a few last things.

Android Auto works by projecting apps and services

running on the user's phone onto the car's screen.

Now, this means you just need to extend your existing Android

apps to work on the car.

And there's two great use cases for that today--

audio and messaging.

Audio apps, such as music, radio, and audio book players--

which are an awesome way to stay entertained while you're

driving-- can now be extended to the car.

APIs are available to expose content, receive playback

control, and customize the UI.

Messaging applications, which are a great way

to stay connected while you're driving,

can now be extended to the car, as well.

Now, APIs are available to show notifications, play back

the message, and reply with speech.

Android Auto brings the Android platform to the car.

You can simply extend your existing app

to work in the car, allowing drivers

to be connected to their virtual worlds

while staying focused on the road ahead.

Please check out these great developer resources

at this URL.

I'm Timothy Jordan, and I'll see you on the road.

DANIEL: Where are my keys?

TIMOTHY JORDAN: Whoo hoo hoo hoo!