One of the most obvious changes to the automotive world in recent years has been in the area of infotainment. Touchscreens have taken over large portions of dashboard space, and are used to access an ever-increasing number of functions. Carmakers have all developed different user interfaces for these, to varying degrees of success, but the introduction of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay has meant that customers can choose a more familiar interface with familiar apps. Volvo has taken a slightly different approach, but it's one that works extremely well. Let's take a look.
Google Built-In
Volvo no longer has a dedicated user interface for infotainment. Instead, Volvo has adopted an Android-based operating system, with a user interface similar to Android Auto. Volvo doesn't offer Android Auto in conjunction with this, but it isn't necessary. You can download apps from Google Play, and you get unlimited streaming for music and podcasts with the apps you already use, like Spotify. You can still pair your phone with Bluetooth for phone calls, but all of the other functions of Android Auto are already built into your Volvo. Google Maps is already installed as the default navigation, and Google Assistant is there to handle all of your voice commands. And perhaps most important of all, you will get over-air updates for the operating system and apps as they become available, not to mention real-time traffic information. This is rare at best with proprietary infotainment systems, many of which don't even offer navigation at all.
Apple CarPlay in Volvo Vehicles
While built-in Google might sound great for Android users, Apple users are probably a bit less excited about it. But don't worry, Volvo thought of you too. Apple CarPlay comes standard on all Volvo vehicles, and using it is incredibly simple. You only need to make sure that CarPlay and Siri are installed on your phone, and that you have an Apple-approved Lightning-to-USB cable on hand. Then simply plug the phone into the vehicle's USB data port and choose "Allow" on the popup on your phone. That's it, CarPlay will now launch automatically whenever you plug your phone in. This superimposes the Apple interface over the default Google one, giving you access to any CarPlay-compatible apps on your phone, no need to download them again as you do with the built-in Google system. Even if you don't have a Google account, you will still be able to use the built-in infotainment for quite a few things if you need to.
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay with Volvo Sensus
Every model in the Volvo lineup comes with Google built-in and Apple CarPlay standard. And while older Volvo vehicles had the proprietary Volvo Sensus user interface, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay will still be compatible with most of these going back to the 2017 model year.