Video content material stands out with giant screens and immersive audio in vehicles with Google built-in. For many individuals, their greatest sound system is of their vehicles! Whether or not charging an EV or ready for a pickup, vehicles with Google built-in are a terrific place to atone for reveals and films.
It’s straightforward to convey your video app to vehicles with Google built-in. You’ll be able to reuse the investments you’ve made in your Android cell app and distribute by way of the Play Retailer to achieve a broad set of automobiles. To fulfill driver distraction pointers, video content material may be performed solely whereas the car is parked.
Earlier than you convey your app to vehicles, it’s greatest to grasp what vehicles are like in relation to the remainder of the Android ecosystem. In some ways, vehicles are just like different giant display screen gadgets like tablets and foldables. They’ve touchscreens with related sizes, resolutions, and side ratios and which can be in both portrait or panorama orientation (although, in contrast to tablets, their orientation is fastened). They’re additionally linked gadgets which can come out and in of community connection.
The largest distinction is in viewing/interplay distance — automotive screens are usually additional away from the consumer even when the display screen dimension stands out as the identical. As such, the next are beneficial minimums to be used in vehicles:
With all that in thoughts, it’s not shocking that apps that are already optimized for big screens (primarily the LS-C1 and LS-U1 giant display screen high quality pointers) usually require a minimal quantity of labor to convey a terrific consumer expertise to vehicles.
Necessary: Your app doesn’t must be totally optimized for big screens to be appropriate with Android Automotive OS. So long as your app meets the Android for Vehicles video app high quality pointers, it may be distributed through the Play Retailer.
Collect machine specs
To search out out the precise specs of vehicles that help video apps, you should utilize the Play Developer Console’s Gadget Catalog as follows:
First, open the Gadget catalog web page from inside the Attain and Units subsection of the Launch part of the navigation drawer.
Subsequent, choose All gadgets from the catalog mode dropdown (within the prime left of the subsequent screenshot).
Observe: After you’ve carried out help for Android Automotive OS gadgets, you should utilize Supported gadgets to get an much more correct view of the gadgets that help your software (since that setting will take into consideration all the different necessities your app has past these particular to video in vehicles).
Subsequent, add a filter utilizing the Shared library choice.
Kind in “android-automotive-video”, choose the consequence, and click on Apply. Optionally, it can save you this filter so it’s simpler to return again to later.
This listing of gadgets represents the set of Android Automotive OS automobiles with Google built-in that help video apps. Observe that the identical machine could also be used throughout a number of fashions (for instance, the identical head unit is used within the Volvo XC40 Recharge as within the Volvo XC60). To research the machine specs, you should utilize the “Export machine listing” characteristic, which can obtain a CSV with particulars such because the display screen decision, DPI, SoC, GPU, and ABI.
Tip: In case you’d wish to see the listing of all automobiles with Google built-in, and never simply people who at the moment help video apps, you possibly can take away the shared library filter and exchange it with a Gadget sort filter utilizing Automotive as the worth.
Comply with the information for constructing video apps, which incorporates steps to check with the generic Android Automotive with Play Retailer emulator accessible in Android Studio. As talked about within the information, ensure you’re assembly the high quality pointers for video apps.
OEM Emulators
Past the generic Android Automotive with Play Retailer emulator accessible by way of Android Studio, you can too check with OEM emulators to see how your app appears on totally different gadgets. Observe that not all the manufacturing automobiles represented by the emulators under could help video apps at the moment — the set proven by the Gadget Catalog as described within the “Collect Gadget Specs” part needs to be handled because the supply of fact for which automobiles on the street at this time are supported.
Observe: The
android-automotive-videolibrary is probably not included in these emulator photos but, so you possibly can check your app by commenting out the<uses-library>factor or quickly setting itsandroid:requiredattribute tofalseso the app may be put in. Simply make sure to change it again earlier than you submit!
Moreover, new automobiles with Google built-in are hitting the street yearly. Think about reaching out to OEMs to seek out out in regards to the newest automobiles and emulators you could possibly goal.
If there is no such thing as a emulator accessible for a configuration you’d like to check, you can too configure an emulator to have matching display screen decision and density utilizing the next adb instructions:
# Set the decision
# e.g. adb shell wm dimension 1280x800
adb shell wm dimension <horiz_px>x<vert_px>
# Set the DPI
# e.g. adb shell wm density 160
adb shell wm density <dpi>
When completed testing, you possibly can reset these values to the unique utilizing the next instructions:
adb shell wm dimension reset
adb shell wm density reset
Simulating Driving
To check the DD-2 high quality guideline (which requires playback to cease when the car is in movement), you possibly can simulate driving utilizing the emulator’s prolonged controls.
First, open the prolonged controls menu by clicking the icon with three dots within the toolbar.
By default, the pace is about to 0 mph and the gear is about to Park.
To simulate driving, all you might want to do is about the pace to be non-zero and the gear to be something apart from Park.
To simulate stopping driving, all you might want to do is reset the gear to Park (the pace is ignored when in Park).
At the moment, any video app can undergo inside, closed, or open testing tracks on the Google Play retailer. The announcement on the developer information web page can be up to date when any video app can publish to manufacturing.
Automotive OS Observe Setup
To distribute your app to vehicles by way of Google Play, you’ll have to first arrange the Android Automotive OS Launch sort.
To do that, navigate to the Superior Settings web page of the Launch part of the navigation drawer on the Play Developer Console web page in your app.
On that web page, choose the Kind elements tab. Click on the + Add kind issue button and choose Android Automotive OS from the dropdown. You’ll then see a guidelines like the next.
Add screenshots
So as to add screenshots in your Automotive OS launch, merely click on the merchandise that claims “Add Android Automotive OS screenshots” and observe the directions on the web page it takes you too. Observe that screenshots ought to solely be taken utilizing the generic emulator picture, not with an OEM one.
Launch a construct
The subsequent step is so as to add a construct of your app to a testing monitor. Once more, clicking the to-do merchandise is the quickest strategy to get began. Observe the discharge sort dropdown within the higher proper nook of the web page. When submitting Automotive OS builds, at all times make sure that the dropdown says “Automotive OS solely”. These tracks are separate from the “Customary” choice used for different kind elements.
Settle for the Phrases of Service
Any developer account function with Admin permissions can settle for these phrases of service. The textual content of this doc may be discovered right here. Accepting these phrases solely must be executed as soon as per developer account.
Conform to the assessment coverage
This step can’t be began till the earlier three are accomplished and includes agreeing to the extra testing standards to which Android Automotive OS apps are topic.
Extra setup
In case your app requires an account to entry sure options, make sure you’ve uploaded testing credentials to the Play Console as described within the App Entry part of the Play Console’s Put together your app for assessment information. If credentials are required (e.g. no content material may be performed with out an account) and never made accessible, the app can be rejected throughout the assessment course of.
Submit your app for assessment
After submitting a launch, your app can be reviewed manually to make sure adherence to the high quality pointers.
In case your app will get rejected, make sure that to increment the model for the brand new construct and deactivate the rejected model when making the subsequent submission — if a beforehand rejected app model is included in a submission, the results of that model’s assessment will mechanically be utilized once more (i.e. a rejected model will mechanically be rejected once more).
For extra particulars on releasing your app, please see the information on distributing Android apps for vehicles.
