Having risen to dominate the smartphone and tablet scenes, Google’s Android OS has now been tipped to become the standard of future in-car entertainment systems.
With chipset specialist Qualcomm stating that “automotive is our next major growth area,” the company responsible for powering many flagship smartphones has tipped Android to extend its reach to the biggest mobile device of all, the car.
“Android is very interesting to the automotive space as it has a very vibrant app ecosystem,” Nakul Duggal, Vice President of Product Management for Qualcomm’s CDMA Technologies said speaking with TrustedReviews.
He added: “The app ecosystem is extremely important for the automotive industry.”
Detailing the appeal of Android, Duggal suggested that Google’s OS could remove much of the hassle and expense that would be required to create bespoke apps and services just for the in-car screens.
“To have to reinvent the app for the car every time a new model comes out is not sustainable so the concept of having a walled-garden app store that has a certain amount of standardisation as for the application technology, that’s not very far away,” the Qualcomm VP told us.
Although suggesting Android is a key target for the automotive sector, Duggal has claimed that ensuring backwards compatibility across a broad range of hardware will remain a complex task.
He stated: “If you think about Android for the phone today, there is no thought of will my new app work on a phone that is five years old.
“There is a disconnect between the hardware and the software and that hardware piece is where the complexity is.”
With Qualcomm chips already present in some new vehicles, the company has suggested this sector will see major growth during the coming months and years. Duggal failed to assign a timeframe as to when he expects Android to become the in-car standard.
Next, read all the latest Samsung Galaxy S5 news and rumours, a device tipped to boast the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset.