Polestar 2’s Google car dashboard will soon open to Android app developers

Volvo’s performance brand brought its new all-electric sedan, the Polestar 2, to North America on Wednesday. This marked the first time this side of the world got a peek at the first car to use Google to natively power the infotainment system. 

An 11-inch center console screen and a 12.3-inch driver seat screen display an Android Automotive operating system with voice-activated Google Assistant, Google Maps, the Google Play Store, and all its Android Automotive apps. 

With the $63,000 car’s arrival in San Francisco, Google opened up app development for the Polestar 2 and other cars planning to use Google for its infotainment system for everything from mapping to sending texts to listening to audio books. 

The car with a 275-mile range is expected to arrive in the U.S. later in 2020. Already a few thousand models have been pre-ordered worldwide. While it’s pricier than Tesla’s Model 3 sedan (which has a $35,000 starting price option), it’s clearly a competitor. Also on Wednesday, Consumer Reports rated Tesla’s infotainment system the best available. Now it has to compete with Polestar’s Google interface.

Earlier this week, Fiat Chrysler announced it would be using Google’s connected car system for its cars in the coming years. Google noted that it can customize the interface for different car designs and brands. For Polestar it’s a darker interface with four big tiles that house different apps and functions, like maps, media, messaging, and then a separate bottom section with climate settings.

Polestar executives said Google was put directly into the car after seeing most drivers immediately plug in their phones to use the apps and services they know and rely on their devices instead of using car companies’ attempt to build a user-friendly interface. Polestar is looking to offer those apps, like Google Maps or Waze, right in the car.

To start developers can make media apps, like podcasts and music apps, optimized for the car. That means a more stringent process that takes into account that the user is a driver and in a moving vehicle, so safety and distraction levels are key. App development will open next week at Google’s I/O developer conference.

For example, Spotify is available as a Polestar music app, but it’s been rebuilt by Google for the car. The Polestar version includes larger buttons and voice controls, for one, and looks different from the Spotify app on your smartphone, while still distinctly Spotify.

At the debut, Google executives said more app development is coming for things like navigation and messaging and other communication apps. But for now cars like Polestar 2 will come with your Google classics like Maps and Assistant and plenty of apps to keep you entertained in the car.