NEW YORK — Head units equipped with Android Auto technology will control Google Search, Google Maps navigation, Google Play Music streaming services, the selection of smartphonestored songs and calling/messaging functions.
The head units will also control specially adapted third-party applications such as Spotify and, for live baseball broadcasts, the MLB app.
All phone-based applications can be controlled via voice, steering-wheel and dash controls, and a car’s touchscreen. Android Auto also reads back text messages and enables voice dictation of replies.
For its part, CarPlay controls four core functions of the iPhone 5 (voice calls, messaging, stored and streamed music, and Apple Maps). Control is enabled via Siri voice control, touchscreens and hard buttons. Also with CarPlay, Siri reads back text messages and lets drivers dictate responses.
Both technologies work when the device is plugged into a head unit’s USB port.
The first OEM infotainment systems with Android Auto will arrive later this year and could include select Hyundai models. Hyundai has said it would offer its first models in the 2015 model year, which begins later this year.
The first OEM systems with Apple CarPlay arrive later this year in select models from Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, Apple said.
