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GMC Hummer EV Shows Off Its Google Built-In Capability: Video

The GMC Hummer EV will come standard with Google’s Android Automotive operating system – which essentially embeds various Google-powered services into the dashboard of the electric supertruck. The Android Automotive OS features Google Maps, the Google Play app store and even a voice-activated Google Assistant, which allows the user to control the infotainment system using voice commands.

GMC recently released a video on its YouTube channel showing off the various capabilities of the Android Automotive OS that serves as the backbone of the Hummer EV’s infotainment system. The video demonstrates how the voice control can be used to change the audio track, find a charging station along a pre-set navigation route, or a resume a podcast that the user had playing, for example. The Android Automotive OS works a lot like Android Auto, but instead of projecting information from a user’s smartphone onto the infotainment screen as Android Auto does, the OS is embedded into the GMC Hummer EV’s infotainment screen.

Another advantage of the Android Automotive OS is the ability for it to interact with other Google devices such as Google Home or Nest products. For example, the user could use voice commands to adjust their thermostat or other smart home settings from their vehicle while they are on the road so their house is at the desired temperature when they arrive.

In an announcement last year, General Motors said the decision to go with Google Infotainment Services for the Hummer EV was based on the fact that “many customers prefer an embedded technology experience in the vehicle, and increasingly expect seamless integration between the tech in their hands and the tech in their vehicle.”

The GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 will come with a 13.4-inch diagonal infotainment screen and 12.3-inch diagonal driver information center display to run its Google-based infotainment system. More information on this innovative operating system should become available between now and the GMC Hummer EV’s arrival later this year, but for now, check out the demonstration video embedded below.

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Sam loves to write and has a passion for auto racing, karting and performance driving of all types.

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Comments

  1. Didn’t you guys just run the same piece a couple weeks ago? The Tech in the Hummer EV is awesome, but running the story one time is enough, no?

    Reply
    1. That other video from the previous article came from the Android Developers youtube channel, the videos are slightly different.

      Reply
  2. So downloading apps and streaming obviously requires a cellular subscription. But i’m curious how well Google Maps and Assistant works offline

    Reply
    1. I’ve been able to download apps and stream music on my car by tethering my car to my phone using its hotspot.

      I’d assume you can just do that then download the map to the car and be on your way like the normal Google Maps app.

      Reply
      1. Yea that’s what i do in my Silverado with an aftermarket 8″ Android head unit. But tethering from phone every time is not very customer friendly for such a vehicle like the Hummer. Basic native functionality, like navigation and hands free, should work without data – and it likely does, i’m just curious to what extent.

        Reply
  3. No doubt some cheesy car reviewer will show himself playing a game on the screen. I like that we’re moving forward with technology in automobiles, but I just wish it wasn’t Google.

    Reply
    1. Your choices are Apple or Google. If you want flexibility you go with Google.

      Reply
      1. That’s a false dichotomy. As mentioned already, QNX is the current standard in the auto industry. Other companies didn’t have to settle between Google or Apple. Tesla chose to build their own OS off of Ubuntu. When there’s a demand, there’s a way. As cars become electrified and digital, the operating system on which the car is based will become much more important (even crucial). We need this discussion now. Google’s platforms give you great flexibility, but it also spies on its users and it’s atrocious for security. I can conceive of a future where cars are leaking vehicle information and location data to 3rd party corporations and advertisers. I don’t want to live in such a world.

        Reply
        1. Tesla doesn’t support Android Auto or Apple Car Play. Sure you can role your own, but Tesla’s maps are older than Google Maps, and Apple’s maps suck. As far as Google leaking location data, do you mean like most of the apps on your phone or telematics systems like OnStar already? If you have a smartphone, someone knows where you are at all times. The question becomes is that information useful to them?

          Reply
          1. Tesla uses Google Maps but they rely on Garmin for navigation (they’re working on new navigation based on car data).

            I’m glad you mentioned smartphones because this illustrates my point. Smartphones are notorious for privacy & security issues. Why would we apply such a system to vehicles? Vehicle OS’s are different from smartphones because they have deeper access to subsystems, including diagnostics, cameras (which are becoming more prevalent in EVs), and controls to the vehicle that are crucial to its operation (see Tesla OS controlling cruise control, opening the hood, etc.).

            This isn’t just some curmudgeon rant. What happens when vehicles are hit with a ransomware attack and you can’t drive? Do you pay? We can’t make the same mistakes we’ve made with other computer systems.

            Reply
            1. A lot of systems you mentioned are separate. Google is basically the infotainment system – basically Android Auto but the phone is built into the vehicle. Supercruise, camerad, lower level functions, the sensor data can be displayed through the infotainment display, but they are basically just piping video to a display. Google doesn’t need to know about tire pressure monitors to display the data – data is just painted in a window using the Unreal Engine.

              Reply
              1. You are describing the current systems that use QNX that allows Android Auto as a separate layer. That’s not the case with the latest infotainment systems that control the vehicle (including cameras), such as Tesla’s OS, at a native level. QNX is known for its security. Google’s Android is not.

                These are actual computers now, and they control core features of the vehicle. If you can turn on and off cruise control from the operating system, then so can anyone else. These modern systems will be a prime target for hackers in the near future.

                Reply
  4. Do you have to buy data from gm/on-star?

    Reply
    1. Yes, like all fully connected cars sold today there is a subscription after the introductory period. Hopefully GM includes it with onstar and supercruise, so there are not additional costs

      Reply
  5. Yet childish gasmaniacs still want to power it with fire. Think McFly think, there is a reason your iphone or computer doesn’t run on wood, your twelve volt archaic lead-acid battery is not enough anymore, you need continuous, high powered, reliable electricity to run computers which cars have become with tons of chips, transmitters, cameras, radars, lidars, Autonomous driving, sensors…

    Reply
    1. Just a quick question.. where do you think the electricity in your wall that you’re going to use to charge this vehicle comes from?

      Reply
      1. Several sources that are continually getting cleaner. Some owners have their own solar setups they can use to charge off the grid.

        Reply
  6. Can someone recommend Asylum Range? Thanks x

    Reply
  7. Video is private 🙁

    Reply

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