I want to create a Custom Android auto app without doing driver distraction.
I went through a lot of blogs and sites and I saw that there used to be custom apps that were blocked since the version 3.0. The developers of those custom apps were using an unofficial Android Auto SDK (https://github.com/martoreto/aauto-sdk) which has been removed.
Is there a way to build a custom Android auto app which is completely legal?
Is there any open source SDK-for-auto that is still available?
(Note: Please don't mark this as duplicate as I went through the other questions & solutions and tried everything but none worked so far)
As far as I know, there isn’t any open source version of the SDK that is supported by Google. The Android Auto FullScreen SDK to build custom apps is only available for use by Automotive OEM partners that have signed agreements with Google. So even if you can find one, if you’re not a signed partner, the app still won’t be able to be published to the Play store.
The Android Auto public templates that are available for developers to build off of, support either media or messaging only.
Related
I am looking to create a 3rd party android automotive of our currently existing android mobile application. The application will not be listed on the play store it is just for internal use. The issue that I am facing is that the SDK is limited and it seems that I can only create applications from a set of templates (Navigation, Media, Messaging). My mobile application uses its own custom map and functionalities. I checked that people used to create 3rd party apps before but google revoked access to this 3rd party sdk and that I have to ask google for access.
Can I make any apps for Android Auto?
Also, by going through the docs it's stated here "In order for your app to run on a real head unit (not the desktop head unit we provide), your app must be distributed through the Google Play Store."https://developer.android.com/training/cars/apps/auto#car-head-unit
If anyone can shed light on this whether custom apps are possible now for Android Auto and whether we have to go through the play store in order to use the app in a real head unit.
There are some issues with the wording of this question, so let's first clarify the differences between Android Auto and Android Automotive.
Android Auto is basically the projected mode. This means apps run on your phone and show on the head unit display (assuming your phone is connected to the car head unit).
Android Automotive is referred to the embedded mode. It is actually Android running as an independent OS in the head unit of the car.
So, with this in mind:
if you want to add support for Android Auto to your existing app, you can do so by using the androidx.car.app library. It provides you with some templates to build the UI/UX. This is the only way to get your app published on Google Play and distribute to other users. Even if you don't want to distribute the app on Google Play, I believe using templates is the only way to build an Android Auto app at the moment.
If what you want is to target Android Automotive, I bet you can run your current mobile app in the Android Automotive emulator. Again, here the only way to publish your app on Google Play is by relying on androidx.car.app. If you build your own UI without using those templates, your only possibility at the time of writing is to distribute it via third party app stores (or convince Google, ;p).
I am researching what minimum versions of Android OS are required by popular apps in the Google Play store, but I'm having trouble finding that information for certain apps whose minimum OS version "varies by device", as in this screenshot of the Facebook app:
I know I can answer my question by exhaustively attempting to install the apps on devices running different OS versions, but this would be a monumental task if, say, you wanted to find out the minimum version for a list of 10 apps.
Is there an easy way to find out what the minimum Android version is for different device models in Google Play?
There seems to be no proper way of getting all data for all devices. I found some info about how Google Play makes this data available here: https://developer.android.com/google/play/filters#filtering-on-the-google-play-web-site.
So there is no better way than to try with different devices. One possible way of making this less tedious is to log in with a Google account on multiple devices (you can even log in on emulated devices) running different Android versions. You should then see which devices from your list support an app on the app's page on the Google Play website.
Original answer:
When I open an app's page in chrome on Windows, I can just scroll down and see
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -> Requires Android -> x.x and up
I think inside the Google Play app itself, you can only find apps your device (on which Google Play is installed) supports.
When you creates new project in Android Studio, there you can find the versions, with that you can create an app
Also you can look in version distribution to see, what versions are currently in use.
And in wikipedia you can look, which verisons are supported and what name is what API level
With support of 26+ you will create an app for almost 80% of all android users (at april 2021)
All,
I am looking at building a proprietary app for all platforms. One of the things I found with apple was they have a developer program which we can use to build, debug, distribute and update apps without putting it out on the store. This seems pretty cool even though it comes at a cost ($299/year).
Is there something similar for android where we can update and distribute apps for android without having to go through the play store? I see my phone has an option to install third party apps but there is also a restriction from my carrier (ATT/USA) that totally make it useless because i cannot install apps from outside the play store.
PS: please suggest the appropriate tags for this question too. I am not sure if the current tags are appropriate
Google offers an excellent developer program - and it is free!
http://developer.android.com/index.html
They offer GUI based editors for free - Studio and Eclipse based - Studio is new and simple - but Eclipse is mature and if you already know it a popular choice.
I'm trying to have my apps sync their database with drive so that the app data is n'sync throughout all his devices. I did some research and found this quickstart, Dr.Edit but when I downloaded the source code for a closer inspection I realised it's for 4.1+. Surprised, I checked the google drive app on google play and found out you can install it on 2.1+.
I understand that later versions of android OS not only work better but make our work as developer easier. However I am surprised I cannot find much about integrating google drive with older versions. If we check the current distribution of android versions, we can easily notice that 2.3.X alone is almost on 50% of the devices out there, so why not supporting them with our apps?
Does anyone know where to find code samples/tutorials on integrating google drive with an app written for 2.1+? I just want to sync some data (mostly the app's local database).
You can write a Drive app for any device supporting Google Play Services, which is 2.2+.
http://developer.android.com/google/play-services/index.html
I published several free and paid app in the Market. I recently get
several complains from customers about not finding my app in the 2.1
Market. Even if they have bought them before, they can't find it in
the market or their download list after updating to 2.1.
Can anyone tell me what the problem is? My apps only require minimal SDK 3..
Thanks a lot!!
Update:
It looks like that they are not shown because they have copy protection enabled. Is this a bug in the Market?
I am having this difficulty also using my ROM OpenEclair (www.openeclair.org)
This only occurs on 2.1, but if it is a custom ROM - they may run into the trouble that the dev is using a Market from 1.6 instead of 2.1
Another possibility is using a 2.1 Market from a diff phone (such as the Droid Eris's Market on a Dream/Magic)
I think I found the answer and it has to do with recent changes in Google market filters on Jun 1st, 2010. Take a look at the following link:
http://developer.android.com/guide/appendix/market-filters.html
I found in my case that the app was hidden in some phones since I had included the following entry in my manifest:
It is because copy-protection is depreciated. Every build or release needs to be whitelisted by google as secure enough to have copy-protected apps. That way they can "ensure" it wont be copied.
From:
http://developer.android.com/guide/publishing/licensing.html
"Replacement for copy protection
Android Market Licensing is a flexible, secure mechanism for controlling access to your applications. It effectively replaces the copy-protection mechanism offered on Android Market and gives you wider distribution potential for your applications."
Use the licensing instead in order to hit a larger audience or customer base.