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> There is nothing good that can come out of installing Android in your TV, fridge, let alone a - for fuck's sake! - a car.

Android Auto is not Android on the car, it's a protocol that allows an Android phone to use the car's system as a display, with limited UI integration.

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The version in Volvo and Polestar's is actually Android Automotive, which is it's own Android distribution with it's own version of Maps/Spotify etc. Funnily it even has Android Auto functionality too.

Restated: “Android Automotive” != “Android Auto”

Although it didn't use to have Android Auto, which was awful. Because as you alluded to, Android apps are not automatically available on AAOS. As it happens the music app I use is not available on AAOS, so until Volvo added Android Auto support to their cars I could not get a good experience with my music.

Yes, Android Auto has some of the standardized interface features I was talking about, allowing the general computing needs to be fulfilled by a device brought by the user.

This is not what the GP is describing though, he's talking about the experience of a built in infotainment system running Android that can (for the time being) sync with his device.

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