Google’s new Android Automotive update wants to control your car’s ‘brain’ —as Micron predicts cars will soon need 300GB of RAM
Publish Date: 2026-03-25 16:00:00
Source Domain: www.techradar.com
- Google announces updated version of Android Automotive OS
- Tech giant hopes software can take care of key car functions
- Cars could eventually require more than 300GB of RAM, Micron says
Google has just announced an updated version of its Android Automotive open-source operating system for vehicles, which it hopes will see the software take care of the “non-safety” parts of today and tomorrow’s Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs).
In recent years, both passenger cars and commercial vehicles have become increasingly more complex. With the advent of electric vehicles and their simplified powertrain architecture, automotive manufacturers have turned towards compute power to both control the vehicle and offer cutting-edge infotainment systems.
Often described as Software Defined Vehicles, the phrase loosely applies to anything that can be updated, improved, diagnosed and fixed remotely, using a data connection within the car to connect to The Cloud.
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In a blog post written by Google’s group product manager, Matt Crowley explains that modern cars are quickly becoming “computers on wheels”.
“From pre-heating your car in the morning to using your smartphone as a car key, many of today’s vehicle functions are controlled by software,” he writes.
But modern automotive manufacturers also face a number of hurdles, chiefly as most of them have limited experience in coding and software, so have had to create entire divisions dedicated to rapidly emerging technologies.
Secondly, Crowley says that most automakers are integrating software modules from dozens of different suppliers.
“This fragmented approach means carmakers have to spend time on building infrastructure rather than what truly differentiates them in a fast-moving market,” he says.
As you have likely already predicted, Google and Android want to make this simpler…
