Android Auto comes to India and 17 other countries

Google has announced the launch of Android Auto in India along with 17 other countries, taking the total to 29. Initially launched by Google in 2014, it is already available in 11 countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, the UK, and the US.

Now, in addition to India, Android Auto will be available in countries including Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Russia, Switzerland, Uruguay and Venezuela.

For those unaware, Android Auto is an in-car operating system and lets drivers control music, make or receive calls, navigate, respond to messages and control apps withing the car's dashboard. It links the smartphone and tablet to the car's infotainment system and you can perform the aforementioned actions without having to take the phone out, and the entire interface can be voice driven to control the hardware for a distraction free driving.

Google has already partnered with multiple manufacturers like Mahindra, Skoda, Audi, Hyundai, Pioneer, Suzuki, Chevrolet and Honda for Android Auto project.

In India, the Mahindra XUV 500 will be the first car to offer Android Auto support. The company also offers the Android Auto-enabled infotainment system in its new Scorpio model.

Meanwhile, Google has updated Android Auto (v1.6), and has added ability to browse full Play Music library from the in-car infotainment system. It also bring improvements to the phone-car connection reliability.

Via