Our App Store distributes apps for automotive environments based on the Android Open-Source Project (AOSP). AOSP solutions don’t come with the licensed Google Mobile Services (GMS), so it is required that your app does not have any hard dependency from GMS.

A hard dependency is one that compromises the application functionality and usability, for example, an application that requires Google Billing for the user to be able to pay in the app.

You might have soft dependencies that won’t affect the app performance for the users (e.g., internal analytics). For Faurecia Aptoide, those apps are functional and as such will be allowed to be distributed in the car.

Some of the most common dependencies are associated with login/signing, billing, and location, resulting in app crashes, sign in button not working, warning messages informing lack of GMS, app crashes when playing.

Automotive displays vary in aspect ratio and orientation not only among OEMs, but also across different car models within the same OEM. Therefore, it is essential to consider the following if your app does not rely on existing automotive templates, or if it uses a template but includes custom screens such as Settings or Sign-in:

• Ensure that your app supports both Portrait and Landscape mode to provide a consistent user experience across devices and orientations.

• Make sure that your app scales correctly to different screen sizes and densities, to prevent visual distortions and ensure readability.

• Thoroughly test your app against different hardware profiles provided in “Testing the apps in an automotive environment” or a representative subset of the provided profiles.

By adhering to these guidelines, you can ensure that your app is fully functional, compatible, and optimized for different automotive displays, providing drivers and passengers with a seamless and satisfying experience.

There are apps, such as Music Streaming and Video on Demand apps, that require an additional encryption layer to play on a device. Digital rights management allows apps to secure their digital content preventing unauthorized use and piracy.

In all devices in which it will be pre-loaded our app store solution, hardware will be compliant with music rights. For video, it will be a case by case.

App publishers might want to distribute their apps in specific countries, be it because they have legal constraints, or the app is not designed for those regions. On the developer portal, developers can define countries availability. By default, all countries are selected.

For IVI app distribution, driver distraction is the main concern of both app publishers and OEMs. Some of the apps might have content that can distract the driver. We consider distracting apps those that by its nature (e.g., video apps), or because they have a distracting feature (e.g., popups/video ads), might affect driver behavior and passenger safety. More guidelines on distracting content here.

On IVI systems, any application that is not correctly optimized will be blocked while the car is in movement. On the other hand, RSE systems can run any type of content whether the car is moving or not. If one or more of an application use cases are a good fit for the IVI system, it is recommended to adapt it to respect both the Driver Distraction Checklist and UI/UX Guidelines