Polestar and Google show the future of in-car technology at CES 2024.
When it comes to pushing in-car tech forward, there’s no better partner to do it with than Google. Google’s Android devices are the most popular in the world and they’re one of the most preeminent technology companies out there, with billions of users, and hundreds of thousands of apps reliant on their services. So, it’s so surprise that Volvo Cars and Polestar are both very much involved in a Google partnership for their latest vehicles. Polestar in particular are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with this alliance, as they showcased at CES 2024 this week.
They were at Google’s Android booth at the convention showing some of the latest innovations on their Polestar 3. Two major features being highlighted were the ability to send a planned route from your mobile device to your car and in-car browsing on the Chrome browser.
Sending Planned Routes To The Car
Imagine this situation: You open up a route on Google Maps and get in your electric vehicle. Instead of using Apple Carplay or Android Auto to mirror what’s on your phone, you send your route to the car, and it opens it up on its own native infotainment unit. Sounds unnecessary, right? Well this actually has the added benefit of the car showing you how much battery percentage you’ll have at your destination and how much you’ll have once you return to where you started, eliminating range anxiety and taking the need to do all the mathematics yourself.
Browsing in-Car
Prior to this, you could use the Google Built-in system with a browser called Vivaldi. It’s not the most popular thing, but it got the job done. Now finally Google is ready to roll out the ever-popular Chrome browser on Polestar models, albeit with a caveat. It will come to the Polestar 2 first and in beta form.
Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, says: “Google is one of our most important technology partners. Since launching Polestar 2 over three years ago, we have seen the Android Automotive OS ecosystem expand with a long list of new apps and functionalities being introduced. Our strong relationship continues to deliver new features for Polestar owners, and they will enrich Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 this year as well.”
