The app store is branded by the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) (e.g. “VW Play Apps” for our app store solution for Volkswagen) and pre-embedded into the car at the factory.

The app store can be deployed both in In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) systems and Rear Seat Entertainment (RSE) systems.

Prior to being deployed into the car, Faurecia Aptoide tests all applications, including updates, making sure they are compatible, functional, and safe in the automotive device. All tests performed on an app can be shared with the developers, to fast-track the adaptation to the automotive environment, and can also be shared with OEMs, to help the selection process. More about Faurecia Aptoide processes in chapter 4.

Due to the large application ecosystem already available, Android OS is gaining momentum with OEMs, being adopted by many car manufacturers. Android OS adoption in cars is expected to grow 10x over the next years, reaching 40% of the cars worldwide by 2025.

Majority of the OEMs have adopted Android Open Source Project (AOSP), as such this is the environment in which our app store will be deployed and in which applications will run.

For IVI specifically, OEMs are adopting Android Automotive OS (AAOS) which extends Android with some specific features for the automotive industry. AAOS is within the same codebase and repository as the Android shipped on phones, tablets, etc. – and not a fork or parallel development of Android. You can read more information about it here.

From our experience, most of the applications – designed for mobile, tablet and automotive – also run on our environment without modification. The next chapter highlights the conditions in which applications may find potential issues.