What's New?

April, 2021

(April 21) Added the Emulator USB Passthrough Integration Guide. Learn how to connect two peripherals (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi) to the AAOS emulator.

(April 7) Added Android Virtual Device as a Development Platform to describe how AAOS platform and device makers can use Android Emulator to develop Human Machine Interface (HMI) and apps without relying on hardware.

March, 2021

(March 10) Updated the entire suite of AAOS Audio articles at Automotive Audio. Learn about the changes made to support these automotive-related audio features:

• Automatic audio zone selection based on the associated User ID
• New system usages to support automotive-specific sounds
• HAL audio focus support
• Delayed audio focus for non-transient streams
• User setting to control interaction between navigation and calls

January, 2021

(January 27) Added User HAL Properties. Use these new properties on the VHAL to create, switch, remove, and associate external accessories to identify Users.

(January 25) Added Android Automotive Bootcamp Presentations. See video recordings from the 2020 Google Automotive Partner Bootcamp.

December, 2020

(December 11) Added Troubleshooting RROs to the Car UI Library Integration Guide.

October, 2020

(October 20) Added these new articles to the Car UI Library Integration Guide:

• Customizing Car UI Preferences
• CarUiListItem
• Customizing CarUiRecyclerView

(October 9) Added this new article:

• Removing Packages for the System User. This article describes how to improve performance by identifying and removing packages not needed for the SYSTEM User.

(October 6) Added these new articles:

Published the Voice Interaction Integration Guide aimed at voice assistant developers and OEMs who want to preload voice assistants on AAOS:

• About Voice Interaction
• Integration Flows
• Application Development
• Fulfilling Commands
• Testing and Debugging

(October 2) Added these new articles:

• Overview
• Adding Car Settings
• Rearranging Car Settings
• Distraction Optimization in Car Settings
• Car Settings Search Indexing

September, 2020

(September 28) Added this new article:

• Virtualization. This article describes a new capability in Android Automotive OS (AAOS), which now supports deployment as a guest virtual machine in environments compatible with the VirtIO standard.

(September 8) These articles have been added:

• Release Details. Learn about the major features and enhancements made to Automotive in Android 11. This article also lists bug fixes and known issues.
• Bluetooth. The numerous enhancements made to Bluetooth are described in this article.
• Extended View System (EVS). The HAL now includes the Extended View System (EVS) stack, which supports rear view and surround view displays in vehicles with Android-based In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) systems. See these articles to learn more:
  • Event and Frame Notification Mechanism
  • Programming Camera Control Parameters
  • Changes to Camera and System Configuration
  • Frame Metadata
  • Automotive Display Proxy Service
  • Multi-Camera Support
• Implementing the USB Port Reset API. The USB Port Reset API is a system API available in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) for devices running Android 11 or higher. Use it to reset the USB gadget connection with the connected host.
• Vehicle Hardware Abstraction Layer. See the new articles to learn about Debugging the VHAL and Car Watchdog.
• Customize Status Bar System Icons. The Status bar displays important information to users. See this article to learn how to customize the Status bar system icons.
• Car UI Library Integration Guide. The new Car User Interface (UI) toolkit provides a UI development framework you can use to customize and ensure consistency in apps present in cars (Google apps and system and vendor apps):
  • Integrating the Car UI Library into Apps
  • Customizing Apps
  • Adding Custom Fonts
  • Appendix A: Working with RROs
• Media Customization. You can now customize the Play/Pause/Stop button layout.
• Heads-Up Notifications. In the Android Automotive OS, a notification can be displayed either as a Heads-Up Notification (HUN) or in the Notification panel (or in both). This article explains how to customize HUNs.
• Implement the System UI. Android Automotive provides a new System UI developed specifically for vehicles. See this article to learn more.

July, 2020

These article were updated:

• (July 30) Bluetooth. The Bluetooth article has been refreshed with Bluetooth connection management and Automotive Bluetooth profiles.
• (July 14) Pixel 3 XL and Pixel 4 XL as Development Platforms. In addition to the Pixel 3 XL, the Pixel 4 XL can now be used as a development platform. To learn more about the Pixel 4 XL, visit the Google Store.

June, 2020

These articles were updated:

• (June 1) Car User Experience Restrictions. Added a new section entitled Configurations for Multiple Displays.
• (June 1) Dialer. Applied numerous updates to this section and added two new articles, entitled Global Configuration Values and Toolbar.
• (June 1) Media. Applied numerous updates to this article.
• (June 1) Implementing Radio. Applied numerous updates to this article.

May, 2020

• (May 18) Implement the System UI. Added a new section entitled "Customize User Switching and Unlocking."

April, 2020

• (April 23) Vehicle Camera HAL. Added new content to describe the use of EGL/SurfaceFlinger in EVS Display HAL implementations.

March, 2020

• (March 27) Time Zone Options. The accurate display of time is a core feature expected of an automotive infotainment system. Learn more about working with time zones in Android Automotive.
• (March 27) Implementing Radio with Media. Learn how to provide a seamless transition between Radio and other apps in Media.

February, 2020

• (February 18) . Multi-Zone Overview. Added new content to describe how to implement multi-zone audio.