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Google I/O: developer reactions

We’re excited about the Polestar 2 for a lot of reasons. One of the biggest is its operating system: Android Automotive with Google Maps, the Google Assistant, and Google Play Store, standard in every Polestar car from here on out.

Crowd forming a queue, waiting to explore Polestar 2, which is displayed under a protective tent in a parking lot.
I’ve never seen a system like this. Fantastic, large icons, the maps don’t distract you. This is the way it’s going to be, it has to.
Harjot Singh, front end developer at Zaio

We figured developers would be excited too. This represents a new stage in digital in-car experiences, with an operating system that is both native to the car and future-proof. This is like the Klondike before the prospectors starting showing up. There’s gold in this here operating system.

So we took it to Google I/O, to let developers test its functionality for themselves. We also built a developer portal and a Polestar Emulator to let them see exactly how their code would work in the Polestar 2. Here are some of their reactions:

“I’ve never seen a system like this. Fantastic, large icons, the maps don’t distract you. This is the way it’s going to be, it has to.”–Harjot Singh, Zaio front end developer

“It’s a really clean, intuitive design. Easy to get to the most-used functions.”–Antti Turunen, Nitor senior software architect

“The four-tile system is better than what a lot of other manufacturers are offering. It’s so much easier to use than a scroll wheel or touchpad. It’s nice to see (Polestar) avoiding squeezing in a ton of functions into the home screen.”–Zhang Zhiguang, San Jose State University design student

“It’s exciting to see (the OS in the Polestar 2), because the Android ecosystem is so open. This is the future.”–Christopher Ellwood, Mindbody developer

“What (Polestar) has done is very smart, design-wise. You don’t actually need that many functions while driving.”–Riku Kalander, Nitor software engineer

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