Android Auto Exists Because We're Not Very Responsible

Android Auto and Apple's CarPlay are exciting, emerging tech that will make your car's on-board system a bit more familiar (and likely more useful, too). With a simplified, blown-up version of features you might find on your phone, either platform promise to bring you closer to your drive and further from unnecessary small-screen activities. Though handy, we're still curious what led both to your car. Was it pure opportunity, or were there other, altruistic motives at stake?

To be fair, probably both, but we're not going to talk rough-and-tumble business practices today. With Android Auto, Google is trying to figure out how you use your phone in your car — then take that phone out of your hand without sacrificing the necessary bits.

Andrew Brenner, Project Manager for the Android Auto team at Google, said "We looked at what people do with their phones in the car, and it was scary" in speaking with The New York Times.

The goal was as much giving you necessary features for driving, like Maps, but also encouraging you to leave your phone alone while you drive. Brenner said the actions his team saw from subjects during testing made them cringe. "You want to say to them, 'Yikes, no, don't do that.' "

"Things that we don't show are just as important as what we do show", said Brenner. That's why features like streaming music or Maps are included in Android Auto, while social media is not. On-screen apps are maximized for quick glances. It's also why voice commands play such a large role.

So when you eventually end up with Android Auto or CarPlay in your car, just know what you find on-screen is there because we're not responsible with our phones during your drive. I blame Vine for being so entertaining.

Source: The New York Times