Android Auto has had a pretty big week this week. Between seeing it launch in about 18 new countries, and an update to make Google Play Music a bit better in the car, we now have a big announcement from Kia. There are a slew of new cars from Kia that are coming with Android Auto which include the 2016 Optima, 2017 Sportage, 2017 Forte, 2017 Soul, 2017 Soul EV, 2017 Optima Hybrid, 2017 Plug-In Optima, 2017 Sorento, 2017 Sedona, 2017 Cadenza, 2017 Niro Hybrid, 2018 Rio and the 2018 K900. Now when looking at these model years, it’s important to remember that the majority of cars being released now are 2017 models. And we may see 2018 models make their debut at the LA Auto Show in the fall and be available around this time next year. The auto industry is a bit weird like that. We have 2016 and 2017 models hitting the road at the same time, right now.
Taking a quote from Steve Jobs’ “One More Thing”. Kia is also going to be pushing out Android Auto over the air to a few models including the 2015 Optima, 2014-16 Soul, 2015-16 Soul EV, 2016 Sorento, 2015-16 Sedona and the 2015-16 Optima Hybrid. So if you own one of these models and have the correct head unit, you should be getting Android Auto in the near future. It’s important to note that some of these will be able to be updated by using your PC and a flash drive, but others will need to take a trip into the car dealership. If Kia does the updates like their sister-company, Hyundai, then the trip to the dealership for the update should be free.
With this announcement, it now puts Kia at the top with Chevrolet for having the most models with Android Auto. As Chevy decided to put Android Auto on their entire 2016 lineup, and a few of their later 2015 models. The world of Android Auto is getting better each and every day. While there are still not a ton of apps out there for Android Auto, it’s great seeing more cars getting support. Because that’ll mean more users, and hopefully more apps and support pretty soon. Especially if more developers get their hands on it.