Until recently, the only way to bring personal content into a car – such as your favorite music from Spotify or continuing a podcast – was through Bluetooth. The more tech-savvy among us have become familiar with projection systems like CarPlay and Android Auto, which “mirror” apps from a smartphone onto the car’s infotainment system. These systems offer a seamless way to use your favorite navigation, music, and communication tools on the go.
In the last couple of years, cars themselves are also becoming standalone smart systems. With platforms like Android Automotive embedded directly into the car, drivers no longer need to rely on smartphones. Apps can be installed and updated directly in the car, paving the way for deeper integration with vehicle hardware and creating new opportunities for brands to enhance the driving experience.
Extended Ecosystem
Your user experience becomes a vital part of the driving journey, seamlessly connecting users with your content or brand.
Driver-Centric Design
User experiences designed for in-car platforms must prioritize safety, creating distraction-free, intuitive experiences.
New Possibilities
From controlling climate settings to offering tailored recommendations, the opportunities for innovation are vast.
These days, we differentiate between two primary technologies for integrating apps into cars, representing opposite ends of the spectrum:
These systems, like CarPlay & Android Auto rely on a connected smartphone to power apps, with the car’s infotainment system acting as a display. Android Auto leverages Google’s ecosystem, while CarPlay integrates with Apple’s - making it familiar to the user. These platforms are efficient but very limited in how they interact with the car’s hardware - so they can't interact with e.g. climate control.
FULLY RELIANT ON PHONE
These systems, like Android Automotive, is embedded directly into the car’s hardware and software, enabling a fully integrated user- and brand experience. It interacts with the car’s systems, such as climate control and sensors, and doesn’t require a connected phone to function. This level of integration opens doors for fully branded, standalone in-car experiences.
NOT RELIANT ON PHONE
The opportunities for features and interactions in car apps are purposefully limited to ensure they support the driving experience, not distract from it. At first glance, these constraints might seem to restrict creativity and engagement. However, as app designers, we view them as opportunities to create apps that deliver real value while still supporting the primary focus of driving. Car apps demand to-the-point interactions to ensure that the driver can perform tasks quickly and safely — whether it’s finding directions or skipping a track —without losing focus on the road.
The safety-first approach doesn’t mean apps for cars can’t be fun or engaging. Features like games or video content are simply reserved for times when the car is parked, utilising the infotainment system in the car to the fullest.
By embracing these platform constraints, we design interactions that are concise, clear, and purpose-built for the unique setting of the car. After all, the best car apps are not just clever—they’re safe.
Designing for car apps often means adapting the task flow to fit within strict limitations. A key constraint (and one main difference to designing for phones!) is the depth of interaction, which is capped at just five steps. For example, if a user is searching for a specific episode in a media app, the flow might look like this:
1 Home > 2 Search > 3 Results > 4 Programme page > 5 Episode page
This structure helps keep interactions concise and focused. However, it comes with challenges. Projection apps aren’t designed to handle error cases well, and exceeding the five-step limit can cause the app to crash. The implementation relies purely on the skill of the development team, making sure that no users end in a crashing scenario. While these limitations may seem restrictive, they are essential for crafting car-appropriate user experiences that balance utility with safety. They encourage designers to distill tasks into their most effective and user-friendly forms, ensuring the driver remains focused on the road.
Projection systems fully rely on a connected smartphone to power apps, with the car’s infotainment system acting as a display. They are quicker to develop because they can inherit logic and user experiences from the developed app it’s mirroring. Projection systems operate within strict platform constraints, where CarPlay emphasizes simplicity and uniformity through Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines, and Android Auto prioritizes adaptability across a wider range of devices. These constraints simplify app design but also naturally limit the possibilities for customization and interaction.
Interactions
Assistant expertise
Developing for Android Automotive involves creating highly customized, fully branded experiences built from the ground up that integrate deeply with the opportunities in the car’s hardware. This process requires a longer UX exploration phase to clarify needs & business requirements, and relies upon close collaboration with manufacturers to align app functionality with vehicle systems. By building it from the ground up & thereby not being underlain specific platform restrictions, this system offers a lot of flexibility in the possible experiences.
Here are some of our apps where we’ve integrated Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, extending their functionality to bring value to drivers. From enjoying favorite media to finding key points of interest, these examples show how in-car integrations make everyday journeys smarter and simpler.
Delivering high-quality in-car apps demands rigorous testing. At Shortcut, we’ve developed an advanced setup to simulate in-car conditions, enabling comprehensive testing without actually requiring a physical car.
A tight & dynamic test setup, that allows for quick evaluation of implementations
Real-world reliability, giving users the confidence to focus on driving.
Consistent performance & user experience across the two different platforms
Navigating the complexities of automotive integrations can be challenging, but Shortcut makes it easier. By combining design-first thinking with technical expertise, we create in-car experiences that are as intuitive as they are innovative. Our commitment to quality ensures that we deliver solutions that are both reliable and safe, giving drivers the confidence to focus on the road.
Want to know more?
Let’s make magic happen and craft an app you’ll love.
Tell us about your project.
