Google’s Android for Cars Products Get Zoom Calls, Weather Channel, Prime Video, and More

It’s a day of auto news from Google! Users of Android Auto and Android Automotive (“cars with Google built-in”) can start to take conference calls from their vehicles, Prime Video is here for show watching, there’s potentially better weather too, Vivaldi as a browser, and more cars that support UWB digital keys.

That’s a lot of stuff, so let’s go through all that’s new in Android Auto and “cars with Google built-in.”

• Android Auto: WebEx by Cisco and Zoom are rolling out to Android Auto, so that you can take audio-only calls when in your car. Gone are the days of only talking through phones – we now have what Google is calling a “new category of apps” that allows you to talk to others outside of your phone. Pretty wild. Zoom should hit Auto in the coming days, while WebEx could take weeks.
• Android Automotive: Amazon’s Prime Video is now available on Google Play for select cars that have Google built-in. Those cars include Renault, Polestar, and Volvo, with other brands to follow.
• Android Automotive: The Vivaldi browser that was previously available to Polestar cars, is now (today) on Google Play for other cars with Google built-in to use. This is a Chromiun based browser that really does bring an internet browser to your car.
• Android Automotive: The Weather Channel app is also soon-to-be available for cars with Google through Google Play. This full-blown app shows hourly forecasts, follow-me alerting, and a trip view radar. We should see this app in the “coming weeks.”
• Digital car key: Google says it has expanded support for digital car key to select Hyundai, Genesis, and Kia cars in the US, Canada, and Korea. This means phones with UWB that can act as your car key. Think Pixel 7 Pro and the Galaxy S23+ to start.

See, that’s quite a big day of Android Auto-related news. Work calls on the go, watching “The Boys” from the driver seat, seeing all the weather for your trip, browsing the web through Vivaldi, and unlocking your car with a digital key are all new things.

// Google