Polestar is one of those automakers that made an early commitment to Android Automotive as a potentially improved in-car infotainment solution over something they could develop in-house. This choice had advantages but also disadvantages, because their implementation of Android Automative has many limitations. While this is no doubt due in part to the low-end specs powering the system, the complaints have been heard by Polestar and they’re ready to offer Polestar 2 owners a new option: Android Auto.
Yeah, it’s confusing to read and I get it. The car runs Android Automotive (AAOS), so why would it need Android Auto? Well, it’s not the same thing, that’s for sure. Android Automotive is like a basic operating system for cars that can be customized (like One UI on Android on Samsung phones) to look native to an automaker. Android Auto is the wired or wireless projection experience you receive from a phone connected to a car. Again, these are very different in-vehicle solutions, as one is customized by an automaker for specific cars, while the other represents Google’s vision of how an experience should look and work. thrown into the car. Android Auto is Google’s competitor to Apple’s CarPlay.
So back to Polestar here, they announced earlier in the month that in the P3.3.16 update for the Polestar 2 they were enabling Android Auto. They’ve had CarPlay in their cars for at least two years now, but they’ve probably kept Android Auto away because the car already runs Android Automotive. This is changing (finally).
In a private Polestar community on Facebook, a company representative called this “one of your most requested features” and described its implementation this way:
This phone-based system projects from your Android device to your infotainment system, from where you can operate hands-free. The application will automatically start when your device is connected (wired connection). This autostart can be turned off in the settings, and you can always go back and use the Google Built-in system (the Polestar 2’s native Android Automotive system) whenever you want.
As a Polestar 2 owner, I can’t begin to describe how welcome this update will be. The Android Automotive experience in the car is…GOOD. It’s very limited in what can be viewed at once on the screen, has limitations in app selection, can be frustrating to navigate, and really lacks regular updates that could bring improvements. Android Auto, while hardwired into the Polestar 2, at least offers more apps, a better overall UI, and can/will improve as Google sees fit.
The Polestar 2 update is expected to bring back wired Android Auto to 2021 models. The update was initially announced as a workshop update (i.e. installed via service appointments ), but should go live. Some people on the Polestar subreddit said they received it OTA and by appointment, but the update was probably suspended for the holidays and should resume in the coming weeks. It is what’s happening with similar Volvo electric vehicles get Android Auto.
Updates in software version P3.3.16
- Enabling Android Auto.
- Improved driving experience at low speeds (MY21-23).
- Introducing HD Radio.
// polar star
