Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Tailwind
Android Auto was developed with drivers in mind, so it's hard to imagine that an application created with the sole purpose of making everything behind the wheel more convenient lacks even the most basic capabilities.
Believe it or not, but opening and closing the garage door still wasn't possible on Android Auto, as Google did not allow such apps on the platform.
Not long ago, however, the search giant lifted more platform restrictions, so garage door control software is now making its way to Android Auto. This week, the very first app allowing drivers to open and close the garage door landed on Android Auto.
Tailwind updated its mobile application with support for the in-car experience, and at first glance, everything works exactly as you'd expect it to work.
Given it pulls the data from the mobile device, the Android Auto version of Tailwind shows the configured garage doors and lets you open and close them with just one tap. Aaand… that's pretty much it, as this is the app's purpose in the first place. The icons used in the app also indicate the garage door status, so you can figure out if you closed the door or not when you're already on the road – just in case you're not sure you did it.
Obviously, the app works with Tailwind garage doors. It supports up to three separate doors in the app.
The interface is nothing special, as you can see in the photo provided by the parent company, but it still serves its purpose just right. I still think larger garage door icons would make more sense, especially because it's a driving-optimized interface, but the current size is easy to use anyway.
In the future, I would also like the icons to come alongside garage door status information, so it'd be easier for drivers to see if a door is closed or not without having to check out the icon. For example, the app should use a color-coded approach, such as red when the garage door is closed, so drivers can figure out the whole thing with a quick glance at the screen on the dashboard.
In the meantime, the good news is that the Android Auto app ecosystem keeps growing. For users, this is big news, especially as the adoption of this system also keeps improving. Google says it expects Android Auto to become available in over 200 million vehicles by the end of the year. At the same time, Apple claims close to 80 percent of new-car buyers in the United States wouldn't consider a vehicle without CarPlay.
These figures prove that mobile phone projection is here to stay, regardless of what General Motors wants to make you believe, so expanding the app support is right for both Google and Apple.
Not long ago, however, the search giant lifted more platform restrictions, so garage door control software is now making its way to Android Auto. This week, the very first app allowing drivers to open and close the garage door landed on Android Auto.
Tailwind updated its mobile application with support for the in-car experience, and at first glance, everything works exactly as you'd expect it to work.
Given it pulls the data from the mobile device, the Android Auto version of Tailwind shows the configured garage doors and lets you open and close them with just one tap. Aaand… that's pretty much it, as this is the app's purpose in the first place. The icons used in the app also indicate the garage door status, so you can figure out if you closed the door or not when you're already on the road – just in case you're not sure you did it.
Obviously, the app works with Tailwind garage doors. It supports up to three separate doors in the app.
The interface is nothing special, as you can see in the photo provided by the parent company, but it still serves its purpose just right. I still think larger garage door icons would make more sense, especially because it's a driving-optimized interface, but the current size is easy to use anyway.
In the future, I would also like the icons to come alongside garage door status information, so it'd be easier for drivers to see if a door is closed or not without having to check out the icon. For example, the app should use a color-coded approach, such as red when the garage door is closed, so drivers can figure out the whole thing with a quick glance at the screen on the dashboard.
In the meantime, the good news is that the Android Auto app ecosystem keeps growing. For users, this is big news, especially as the adoption of this system also keeps improving. Google says it expects Android Auto to become available in over 200 million vehicles by the end of the year. At the same time, Apple claims close to 80 percent of new-car buyers in the United States wouldn't consider a vehicle without CarPlay.
These figures prove that mobile phone projection is here to stay, regardless of what General Motors wants to make you believe, so expanding the app support is right for both Google and Apple.
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