Volvo is making waiting for a family member, or recharging your vehicle just a little more entertaining by adding video streaming apps Prime Video and YouTube to all vehicles with Google built in.
YouTube will be available on new cars as a preinstalled app from September 18th, 2023 and will be rolled out gradually as an over-the-air update for existing cars. Prime Video will be available via the Google Play store.
“Adding access to services such as Prime Video and YouTube in our cars bolsters the continuously growing list of software and applications to make lives for our drivers better,” says Erik Severinson, our global head of new car programmes. “We are delivering on our promise of building cars that grow with our customers over time.”
Naturally, these apps will only be accessible when the vehicle is fully stationary.
Volvo has been slowly adding more apps to their cars, back in April, 2023 Volvo added Waze as an available download from the Google Play store.
The added apps further flesh out the Google implementation in their vehicles and offers a comprehensive experience not just on the main infotainment display, but also on the instrument cluster. Real time navigation via Google Maps can be viewed, in addition to real time EV charger information and routing.
Sister brand, Polestar is also making Prime Video available to its Polestar 2 models, with YouTube being added previously in June, 2023, and Waze before that.
Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, comments: “The successful launch and integration of Android Automotive OS in Polestar 2 has proven that we can leverage the best navigation and voice control in the business to make life with a Polestar easier. The Google Play Store has also gained a rich variety of apps that offer interactivity and entertainment, from playing games to streaming series.”
Whilst it seems simple, this is a welcomed addition to the in-car experience, and we hope that more bring these types of apps to their cars (especially EV’s) which have beautiful high resolution infotainment systems.
