Google and Volvo have announced that new Volvo cars will soon be equipped with support for the Google Home ecosystem and YouTube.
At CES 2022 last week, Google unveiled several new ways to keep Android devices connected, including connecting cars to Google services and content.
The two companies announced new content and services coming to new Volvo vehicles, including the ability to download and use the YouTube app via Google Play Store and the ability to communicate with the Google Home ecosystem.
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The announcement adds support for the YouTube app and the Google Home ecosystem to new Volvo car models, which already come with an Android Automotive operating system and embedded Google Assistant, Google Play Store, Google Maps, and more.
The added features are set to be released in the coming months in Europe and the US first. They allow owners of Volvo vehicles to voice-control things like the temperature of their cars, as well as turn on or off their engine simply using Google Assistant-enabled home and mobile devices, as well as talk to Google while in their car.
Owners of participating new Volvo vehicles will also be the first to stream YouTube videos in their cars.
“Allowing our customers to watch videos while charging or when waiting to pick up their children from school is part of our promise to make their lives better and more enjoyable,” said Henrik Green, Chief Product Officer at Volvo Cars, in a statement. “With YouTube and other major streaming services coming soon, our customers can enjoy their charging break instead of seeing it as just a hassle — making electric car ownership that bit easier.”
To equip cars with better processing power, and to facilitate more digital services keeping passengers entertained, Volvo has also announced its partnership with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon digital cockpit platform. The move comes ahead of Volvo’s planned release of its Ride Pilot, its new “unsupervised” autonomous driving feature allowing drivers to be completely hands-free.
In December, Google also unveiled its digital car key, enabling BMW car owners to lock, unlock and start compatible cars through select Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones. According to Google, later this year, users will also be able to use the digital car key to unlock their cars without hand-holding their phones and to even share the key with others.