Before CES 2014, we heard that Google and Audi had inked a deal that would bring Android to the German automaker’s cars and now, we’re hearing some pretty exciting news. We knew that Audi and Google were going to announce their partnership at CES but, we had no idea that Google had been this busy on the car front. In an official blog post, Google details the formation of the Open Automotive Alliance in a “new partnership to bring Android to the open road”. What this essentially means is that soon, Android will be heading to cars from these first members – Audi, GM, Honda and Hyundai – more than likely powered by another member of the alliance, Nvidia.
Earlier on, we heard from Nvidia whom announced their new Tegra K1 processor as well as some pretty interesting plans for cars. It now looks like all of the pieces have come together for Google and our beloved green friend will soon be heading to dashboards everywhere. Sundar Pichai, the man now in charge of both Android and Chrome at Google, had the following to say in a press release: “Millions of people are already familiar with Android and use it everyday. The expansion of the Android platform into automotive will allow our industry partners to more easily integrate mobile technology into cars and offer drivers a familiar, seamless experience so they can focus on the road.”
So, while it’s certainly early days for such a thing, it looks like Google and their friends have very solid plans that are already in motion, we might not see the result of these plans hit the road until the second half of 2014 but, at least there’s a solid foundation for Android in our cars going forward. With iOS the dominant platform that companies such as Ford look to connect in their cars, Google will be pleased that they’ve finally got a plan in place, with some of the best automotive names in the business on board. This has only just been announced and as such, we’re sure to hear more as CES 2014 gets underway in earnest.