Getting Android Auto or Apple CarPlay on your device

In the previous article, we’ve discussed about why your next car should be equipped with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. 

Now, the burning question on your mind is how do you get Android Auto or Apple CarPlay on your device?

Starting with the Apple camp, getting Apple CarPlay started is a fairly straightforward process, as CarPlay is ‘baked’ into Apple’s operating system itself. So getting Apple CarPlay started is as simple as plugging your iPhone into the designated USB port in your car, assuming that your car already has support for Apple CarPlay. 

However, for Android users, the process isn’t as straightforward.

You see, Google has yet to introduce Android Auto in Malaysia. As such, Android Auto isn’t available on the Google Play Store. 

To get Android Auto on your Android device, the easiest way is to ‘sideload’ the application, which means installing it from another source that isn’t via official channels, i.e. the Google Play Store.

However, sideloading brings with it a host of risks, as it’s much tougher to verify whether the app has been injected with malware. 

To overcome this issue, I recommend using websites like apkmirror.com to source for your applications. What makes apkmirror.com trustworthy is the fact that all apps are reviewed and approved. Furthermore, apkmirror.com provides various file hashes for you to verify that the app has not been tampered with in any way.

Once you’ve verified that the file you downloaded is clean, you then need to turn off (or on, depending on your device) the ‘unknown source’ toggle in your phone’s setting menu.

From here, it’s a rather simple process of opening the file you downloaded, installing it and launching Android Auto. 

The final step is hooking your phone up to your car via a good quality USB cable, as Google has highlighted here. Using a cable that isn’t listed is fine, but your experience with Android Auto may vary.

So there you have it, easy-to-follow steps to get Android Auto running on your device.