Why trust Greenbotlost control of how Android looks on smartphones long ago, but it won’t suffer that same indignity—or confusion point for consumers—with its new Android iterations for wearables, entertainment devices cars.
Speaking with Ars Technica, engineering director David Burke said that the user interfaces software code for Android ar, Android Auto Android TV will be controlled by , not device manufacturers. This will put an end to the too-often-frustrating problem of Android looking one way on Samsung devices, another way on HTC devices, entirely different ways on hsets tablets from , Sony the rest of the Android hardware universe.
“The UI is more part of the product in this case,” Burke told Ars Technica. “ want to just have a very consistent user experience, so if you have one TV in one room another TV in another room they both say Android TV, we want them to work the same look the same.”
Android Auto should look the same whether you’re in a Honda, Audi, or any other ride.
Burke said will directly manage software updates for ar, Auto TV hardware, pushing out new versions much like Chrome desktop updates. This should put an end to the heartbreak so many smartphone owners suffer when they have to wait a matter of months for their hsets to receive the latest system code.
is clearly asserting a ubiquitous, consistent design across all the new types of Android devices—a software philosophy that’s worked wonders for Apple’s iOS. Says Burke: “The device manufacturers can br it, they might have services that they want to include with it, but otherwise it should be the same.”
Image: Android ar watches like the Moto 360 will have their own custom watch faces, of course display specs will vary from watch to watch. But the underlying Android ar experience will remain consistent.
Cars with Android Auto, TVs streaming boxes with Android TV, should be rolling out by the end of the year. But right now, people interested in Android ar are researching watch models from Samsung, Motorola. The Samsung Gear ve G tch will starting shipping in early ly, while the Motorola Moto 360 is planned for late summer.
But here’s the kicker for ar-curious consumers: en they’re narrowing down their choice about which watch to buy, they can focus solely on aesthetics, build quality, weight, dimensions, comfort, display quality a few br-specifics apps services. They won’t have to stress about whether they prefer a Samsung skin over an skin.
And that’s great news, because ’s UI vision is usually better than the OEM visions, the end of excessive skinning across all Android devices can’t come soon enough.
