GMC
Android Automotive, Google’s operating system for cars, has historically been fairly niche, with only a handful of high-profile cars like the Polestar 2 having used it. Now Android Automotive is going mainstream, though, and we’re starting to see some of the biggest automakers rolling out Google’s operating system across entire lineups.
Today we’re looking at the 2022 GMC Yukon, but really, this is General Motors’ Android Automotive system, and you’ll see it rolled out across most of GM’s lineup in the future. The same basic setup powers the Hummer EV1, and with all the parts shared at GM, you’d expect this system to show up in Chevys, GMCs, Cadillacs, and Buicks. With Ford and Honda entering the Android Automotive ecosystem in the near future, Google’s automotive operating system will soon be everywhere.
Let’s get the usual disclaimer out of the way: this article is not about Android Auto, Google’s tethered phone app and competitor to Apple’s CarPlay. Android Automotive, spelled in full (it’s sometimes branded “Google Built-In”), means the car is one big Android device. A computer runs the car’s infotainment system, and that computer runs Android. Even having an iPhone in your pocket doesn’t change the operating system your car is running (it does support CarPlay). For most models, buying a General Motors means buying an Android car. During setup, a message appears on the screen that says, “By using this car, you agree to the Google Terms of Service.”
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This is one of the first screens the car shows after a new reset. If you don’t want to agree to Google’s terms of service, call an Uber.
Ron Amadeo
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You don’t get many privacy options in the way. You would probably never block apps like Google Maps from using your location.
Ron Amadeo
The idea here makes some sense. Consumers want their car’s infotainment system to look and work more like a smartphone, so why not just equip the vehicle with a smartphone operating system? Then you can get all the smooth-scrolling touchscreen-based swipe navigation that people have come to expect from a modern computer. Android Automotive is a Google-blessed operating system, and like phone companies, manufacturers like Ford, GM, and Volvo make deals with Google to license the operating system and a slew of Google apps. This car has Google Maps on board, probably the biggest killer app in the automotive industry. You also get Google Assistant voice commands and the Google Play Store for cars, giving you easy access to apps like Spotify and other media players.
The hardware: four screens, three operating systems
Ron Amadeo
Reviewing a car computer is a strange proposition because the hardware is always so old. The development of cars takes about five years, and when the cars finally hit the market, the computer hardware is not that exciting. The hardware for our Android Car system, internally referred to as “General Motors Infotainment 3.7” or “gminfo37”, is a 5 year old Intel Atom A3960 SoC with an Intel HD Graphics 500 GPU, 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of Flash storage .
This isn’t uniquely a GM issue, and the same CPU exists in the Polestar 2 – although that system only has 4GB of RAM – so we’ll classify both cars as “first generation Android Automotive hardware”. However, the age of the hardware is remarkable. Android Automotive won’t let you sideload apps into a production car, but look up the Atom A3960 Geekbench scores, and you’ll see that the computer in this $78,000 vehicle is barely faster than a $35 Raspberry Pi 4. The GMC Yukon and Polestar 2 both have some of the slowest CPUs you can buy in any form today.
I’m sure the Atom A3960 has gone through a lengthy certification process to ensure it can withstand the heat and vibration of a harsh automotive environment, but it’s disappointing to see GMC from 2016 selling what are basically cheap PC parts , sends. Even if the five-year hardware lag is unavoidable, the company could have started with mid-range or high-end 2016 Intel hardware instead of cheap Atom parts.
