Android Auto and Apple Carplay are the two biggest smartphone integration programs in the car, and they do pretty much the same thing: connect your smartphone to the car via a wired USB port or Bluetooth, and you can cast your phone's apps to the car's information entertainment system. They act as the perfect co-pilot, making it safer and easier for the driver to handle navigation, communication, and entertainment while driving.

You use Apple Carplay or Android Auto, depending on your phone, if your phone is an iPhone, choose Apple Carplay. If it's an Android phone, use Android Auto.

 

Here is a list of similar features between Android Auto and Apple Carplay:

telephone
music
map
podcast
information
Audiobooks
calendar
set up
exit button
Any other third-party applications that support the platform
Virtual assistants (such as Siri and Google Assistant)

What's the difference between Carplay and Android Auto?

In-vehicle interfaces:

The Dock of Apple CarPlay is on the screen left: the top shows the time, network signal strength, and battery level. The middle is the currently active application. And there is a menu symbol at the bottom, click to view the widgets (music menu, navigation buttons, map, etc.). The application menu on the screen scrolls horizontally.

Android Auto Shelf at the screen's bottom: the circular icon on the far left is the App Launcher, click it to access all your apps and settings. In the middle are the controls for the current app. The two icons on the far right are a bell icon for viewing notifications and a microphone icon for launching Google Assistant. The application menu on the screen scrolls vertically. In addition, the time, network signal strength, and battery level are at the top of the screen.

Personalization-wise:

Android Auto is more flexible than Apple Carplay. With Android Auto, you can change the wallpaper, change the screen brightness mode, and more directly from the car screen. But with Carplay, these operations must be performed on the iPhone.

In addition, in terms of functions, the APPs available on Android Auto and Apple Carplay are also slightly different, which will be explained in detail later.

Related Reading: What is Apple CarPlay and How to Set Up Apple Carplay