Cars will be one of the platforms for the next version of Android

Android M will manage the work of infotainment systems

If you believe Reuters sources (these are two people who prefer not to publish their own names), then Google is currently working on adapting Android to work as an operating system for the infotainment system in cars. Google declined to comment on the leak.

This will be a big step relative to the already existing Android Auto. This feature of the Lollipop version allows you to connect your phone for access from a built-in dashboard screen to music broadcasting, search queries, calls, voice dialing text messages and navigation. The first cars with Android Auto will appear next year. Their show is expected at the Consumer Electronics Show next month in Las Vegas.

Like Apple's CarPlay, Android Auto requires you to connect your smartphone to work and access the latter to the screen of the car dashboard. This is not a standalone operating system, so Android Auto and CarPlay cannot access low-level features: radio, cameras, air conditioning.

Android Auto is still the only Android choice for a car, except for the OS that Harman International is developing , it is also based on Android. In Android M, the situation may change.
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You don’t need to connect your phone anymore - Google services will start immediately after you turn the ignition key. The operating system will collect data from sensors, satellite navigation systems, fuel gauge and cameras and access the Internet if the appropriate module is in the vehicle. This will allow her to “memorize” where the driver goes every day, and also, for example, recommend a gas station if the car runs out of fuel.

The name of the future version of the operating system is still unknown. Traditionally, these are desserts, the first letters of which follow in alphabetical order, and the next is M. Due to the material design Material Design and the need to meet many standards around the world, the interface of the new car system can be very similar to Android Auto.

Today, the choice for infotainment systems is often QNX from Blackberry, Windows CE, or some special Linux-based development. Android, with its focus on touch input, seems like a natural choice for the role of such an OS.

Google, however, will have to work hard to make Android attractive for auto giants - the operating system will be fairly deeply integrated into those components of the cars that automakers usually prefer to keep in their sphere of influence and responsibility. Brands want uniqueness, but not uniformity of software shells, when car systems from different manufacturers are almost the same.

Reuters also notes that the start time for Android will have to be improved if it is really going to be used in this area. Modern Android smartphones are loaded for several tens of seconds.

It is reported that Android M will be released in about a year. Prior to this, Google has never talked about the approximate time interval for the release of Android for car infotainment systems.

Manufacturers integrate their mobile solutions in all new and new devices - the latest innovation is smart watches. According to statistics, on average, an American spends almost an hour a day — 50 minutes — driving, which makes embedding software products in cars a very attractive market niche.

In March of this year, Apple told about CarPlay . Google, in turn, has contracted Android Auto with several automakers, including Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors.