As HARMAN continues to perfect the all-important, ever-evolving concept of in-vehicle connectivity, we clearly see the importance customization and personalization experience brings to the table. The incredible HARMAN Ignite Store presents new opportunities to create the ultimate in-vehicle experience by sourcing groundbreaking automotive apps from developers around the world. Below is a continuation of our conversation with Karen Piurkowski, Global Marketing Director, Automotive at HARMAN, about the HARMAN Ignite Store:

Q: How does HARMAN plan to motivate app providers?

Piurkowski:

First and foremost, by adhering to a customer due diligence-compliant strategy, HARMAN provides a path for content providers to double their investment in Android Automotive App development by allowing content providers to distribute the same app via Google and Ignite Store.

Also, HARMAN provides an option for partners to explore extensions where they can improve engagement, and address the unique requirements for the embedded use case.

We are currently working with our OEM partners to develop a standardization strategy. We are exploring GENIVI and CCC as platforms to standardize requirements and application programming interfaces to demonstrate open support of OEMs for the ecosystem.

How to Differentiate

One important element of the standardization effort is going to be the support of a Car application programming interface that will provide third-party developers access to car data. Currently, there is a limited set of vehicle data that is available on Android Automotive, and while Google has proposed an expanded list, we are not sure to what extent the OEM community will support this set. HARMAN will support all Android Automotive standard vehicle data, and offer additional extensions, with the proviso that OEMs retain control to ensure adoption.

Q: As OEMs choose different paths for how they would like to customize and present the templates, how far does HARMAN go to ensure that all functions well across all of the variants as app updates come through frequently? Are there limits to how often app developers can submit their updates?

Piurkowski:

Some content providers plan to certify the end-user experience (e.g. Spotify, Apple). Hence, we strongly encourage OEMs not to deviate from the guidelines, which are also consistent with Google published guidelines.

As content providers submit new or updates to existing apps, HARMAN will conduct automated and manual testing of all submitted apps. The goal is to certify app performance and adherence to HARMAN’s reference templates. OEMs also have the ability to conduct their test. Currently, we have not placed any limits to third-party app developer updates.

As the success of the HARMAN Ignite Store continues to grow and expand across vehicles and providers, we at HARMAN are excited to watch customers around the world cultivate an unprecedented connected in-car experience. The world’s increasing connectivity will only be made stronger with the HARMAN Ignite Store at the helm. Want to learn more? Visit https://ignitedevelopers.HARMAN.com/