Cars are becoming software platforms. With Android Automotive OS powering infotainment systems from Volvo, Polestar, BMW, and many others, there’s an opportunity to build apps that genuinely improve the driving experience — not by adding distraction, but by making useful information accessible when you need it.
Automotive Apps is a solo project focused on exactly that: high-quality, purpose-built applications for the car. Weather at a glance. Hunting seasons for the road. Ambient sounds for the journey. Each app is designed for large touch targets, readable at arm’s length, and respects the driver’s attention.
What This Blog Covers
Technical deep-dives. Building for AAOS is still uncharted territory for most developers. The official documentation is sparse, the tooling is rough, and the ecosystem is young. I’ll share what I learn — from building custom AOSP images to navigating the Car App Library’s template constraints.
Product updates. New app releases, design decisions, and the reasoning behind them.
The journey. What it’s like to build a solo app business for a platform that barely exists yet. The wins, the frustrations, and everything in between.
The Stack
All apps are built in Kotlin with Jetpack Compose, targeting Android Automotive OS. The platform modules (design system, analytics, settings) are shared across all products. Some apps also have Car App Library versions that run on Android Auto.
The backend runs on a Hetzner VPS with Caddy and Docker Compose. This blog itself is built with Astro and deployed alongside the main website.
Everything ships from a single monorepo. One developer, one codebase, many cars.
Follow Along
If you’re building for AAOS, working in automotive software, or just curious about the space — welcome. Subscribe via RSS to follow along.
— Florian