Google launches Android Auto for Android 5.0+ phones and Pioneer head units

Google announced today that you can now use the Android Auto system on Pioneer vehicle dashboard systems in the U.S., United Kingdom, and Australia.

With the new integration, you bring in driving directions via Google Maps and music via Google Play Music.

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You’ll need a phone running Android 5.0 or higher and compatible Pioneer head units.

In the U.S., you can use Pioneer models AVIC-8100NEX, AVIC-7100NEX, and AVH-4100NEX, a Google spokeswoman told VentureBeat in an email. In the United Kingdom, compatible systems include Pioneer’s AVIC-F77DAB, AVIC-F70DAB, and AVH-X8700BT. And in Australia, models AVIC-F70DAB and AVH-X8750BT will work.

But more device support is on the way.

“Stay tuned for more partners coming soon!” Google posted on its Android Google+ page today.

Google first introduced Android Auto at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco last June. Google Play is accepting Android Auto apps; Spotify, Skype, and ICQ Messenger apps, among others, are already available.

“Your existing apps can take advantage of all these cool new Android Auto features with just a few small changes,” Google developer advocate Wayne Piekarski wrote in a blog post on Android Auto today. “You’ll need to add Android Auto support to your application, and then agree to the Android Auto terms in the Pricing & Distribution category in the Google Play Developer Console. Once the application is approved, it will be made available as an update to your users, and shown in the cars’ display.”

You can find the Android Auto app itself in the Google Play Store here.

Check out the capabilities of the Pioneer implementation of Android Auto in this video:

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