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App Quality

Automotive Guidelines and App Quality

Car Ready (Tier 3)

1. Permitted Categories (ID: PC-1)

  • Applicable Categories: All

  • Description: Apps must not include features outside the types intended for cars. They must align with supported app categories, such as Media, Navigation, Point of Interest (POI), Internet of Things (IoT), Video, Games, and Browsers.

2. Expected Performance (ID: EP-1 & EP-2)

  • Applicable Categories: All

  • Description: The app must work as expected or described in the Google Play Store listing (EP-1). For Media, Navigation, POI, IoT, Video, Games, and Browsers, the app must restore its previous state as closely as possible when relaunched from the home screen (EP-2).

3. Display Orientation (ID: DO-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Video, Games, Browsers

  • Description: Apps can be distributed to devices with fixed screen orientations, as per Android Automotive OS requirements.

4. CPU Architectures (ID: CP-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Video, Games, Browsers

  • Description: Apps must support both x86_64 and ARM CPUs to ensure compatibility across various hardware.

5. App Rendering (ID: AR-1)

  • Applicable Categories: All supported by Android Automotive OS

  • Description: In-app activities, interactive UI elements must not be obstructed by system bars or display cutouts. Apps should work well with window insets and display cutouts.

6. Driver Distraction (ID: DD-3)

  • Applicable Categories: Video, Games, Browsers

  • Description: These apps must not be launchable or usable while driving. They should not play audio when the car is in motion.

7. Irrelevant Notifications (ID: IN-2)

  • Applicable Categories: Video, Games, Browsers

  • Description: Apps must not post any heads-up notifications that could distract the driver.

8. App Navigability (ID: AN-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Video, Games, Browsers

  • Description: Users must be able to navigate the app without encountering any dead ends.

9. Sensitive Data (ID: SD-1 & SD-2)

  • Applicable Categories: Browsers

  • Description: Browsers must not save or allow access to passwords or payment information unless a profile lock is used (SD-1). Before syncing data to the car, browsers must prompt the user for authentication and notify them that their data will be synchronized to the vehicle (SD-2).

10. Large Screen Quality Guidelines

  • Configuration and Continuity (ID: LS-C1 & LS-C2)

  • Guidance for Cars: Configuration changes in cars occur primarily when moving an app between displays, such as from the main display to a distant one (LS-C1). No additional guidance is provided under LS-C2.

Car Optimized (Tier 2)

1. Parked Experiences (ID: PE-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Media, Navigation, POI, IoT

  • Description: The app must not provide any functionality through its own activities, except for setup, settings, and sign-in flows while the car is parked.

2. Screen Animation (ID: SA-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Media, Messaging, Navigation, POI, IoT

  • Description: The app must not display animated elements on the screen, such as animated graphics or videos.

3. Visual or Text Ads (ID: AD-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Media, Messaging, Navigation, POI, IoT

  • Description: The app must not display text-based advertising other than the advertiser’s or product’s name.

4. Image Usage (ID: IU-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Media, Messaging, Navigation, POI, IoT

  • Description: Apps should avoid displaying images on the screen, with exceptions such as a single static image in the background or icons in the content navigation drawer. Navigation apps can display images for lane or junction guidance.

5. Visual Information on Phone (ID: VI-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Media, Navigation, POI, IoT

  • Description: Android Auto only: If the user must act on a permission request via the phone screen, the app must display a message instructing the user to only look at the phone screen when safe.

6. App Doesn't Crash (ID: AC-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Navigation, POI, IoT

  • Description: Users must complete tasks within the app using five screens or fewer.

7. Scrolling Text (ID: ST-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Media, Messaging, Navigation, POI, IoT

  • Description: The app must not display automatically scrolling text.

8. Voice Commands (ID: VC-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Media, Navigation

  • Description: The app must support Google Assistant voice commands.

9. Delayed Response (ID: DR-1 to DR-3)

  • Applicable Categories: Media, Navigation, POI, IoT

  • Description: App-specific buttons must respond to user actions within 2 seconds (DR-1). The app must launch in no more than 10 seconds (DR-2), and content must load in no more than 10 seconds (DR-3).

10. Contrast (ID: VD-1 to VD-3)

  • Applicable Categories: Media, Messaging, Navigation, POI, IoT

  • Description: The app must meet Android Auto’s contrast requirements, including providing white icon sets for system colorization and colors optimized for in-vehicle readability.

11. Grey Buttons (ID: GB-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Media

  • Description: Interactive elements that are intentionally greyed-out must be nonfunctional.

12. Driver Distraction (ID: DD-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Navigation

  • Description: The navigation audio channel can only be used by navigation apps and for navigation instructions.

13. Payments (ID: PA-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Navigation, POI, IoT

  • Description: The app must have simple purchase flows and must not allow the setup of payment methods, selection of multiple items, or recurring payments.

14. Notification Ads (ID: NA-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Media, Messaging, Navigation, POI, IoT

  • Description: The app must not present advertisements through notifications.

15. Irrelevant Notifications (ID: IN-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Media, Messaging, Navigation, POI, IoT

  • Description: Notifications must be relevant to the driver’s needs, such as a new message arriving.

16. Media Autoplay (ID: MA-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Media

  • Description: The app must not autoplay on startup or without user-initiated action.

17. Messaging Functionality (ID: MF-1 to MF-5)

  • Applicable Categories: Messaging

  • Description: The app must support receiving, grouping, and displaying messages correctly. Users must be able to reply to messages, and the app should implement a peer-to-peer messaging service, not notification services.

18. Navigation Functionality (ID: NF-1 to NF-8)

  • Applicable Categories: Navigation

  • Description: The app must provide turn-by-turn directions, display map content, and handle navigation requests from other Android Auto apps. It must also offer a "test drive" mode and support both light and dark themes.

19. Point of Interest Functionality (ID: PF-1)

  • Applicable Categories: POI

  • Description: The app must provide meaningful functionality relevant to driving.

20. Internet of Things Functionality (ID: IT-1)

  • Applicable Categories: IoT

  • Description: While driving, the app may allow viewing device status, controlling on/off functions, and receiving notifications but must not allow tasks related to setup, creation, modification, or fine-grained control.

21. Media Controls (ID: MC-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Video

  • Description: The app must integrate with media sessions and support playback commands, providing title and thumbnail metadata for every media item.

22. Large Screen Quality Guidelines

  • Multi-window and Multi-resume (ID: LS-M2)

  • Guidance for Cars: When an activity is on a distant display, it loses the top resumed activity position when the user interacts with an activity on the main display.

  • UX (ID: LS-U1 to LS-U3)

  • Guidance for Cars: Some cars have landscape screens with aspect ratios greater than common large-screen devices. Apps must meet touch target size requirements to qualify as car optimized or differentiated.

Car Differentiated (Tier 1)

1. Cluster Displays (ID: CD-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Navigation

  • Description: The app must support rendering on cluster displays, providing turn-by-turn directions.

2. Multi-Display Support (ID: MD-1)

  • Applicable Categories: All supported by Android Automotive OS

  • Description: The app must support multi-display configurations without degrading the user experience.

3. Display Cutouts (ID: DC-1)

  • Applicable Categories: All supported by Android Automotive OS

  • Description: The app should take full advantage of the screen space available, including display cutouts.

4. Cluster & Main Display Consistency (ID: CM-1)

  • Applicable Categories: Navigation

  • Description: Turn-by-turn directions should be consistent across cluster and main displays.

5. In-Vehicle UX (ID: IV-1 to IV-4)

  • Applicable Categories: All supported by Android Automotive OS

  • Description: Apps should meet the unique needs of in-vehicle use, such as managing input from physical controllers like rotary knobs, ensuring voice input works accurately, supporting portrait and landscape modes, and meeting stringent guidelines for touch target sizes and spacing.

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Last updated 8 months ago