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Android for Cars offers two ways to co-create media browsing and playing
experiences (such as for music, podcasts, and audio books) depending on the
level of customization you need.
Figure 1. A sample media app experience created using Car App Library templates
MediaBrowserService (MBS): A done-for-you option, perfect for quickly
creating a quality media app experience without customization.
Car App Library (CAL) templates: Customizable templates provide
guardrails to help you bring the best of your media app to the car without
starting from the beginning.
MediaBrowserService
If you'd like to create a basic media app with limited branding and
customization, use MediaBrowserService. This is a lower-cost experience
to let users browse content and play media.
Because the basic visual design and interaction model for much of the Android
for Cars media experience is determined by Google and car makers, your role in
design is mostly focused on:
Creating a browsing structure for the content
Supplying branding elements and icons for navigational tabs and custom
controls (if needed)
Depending on your app, you may need to create additional flows, such as
a sign-in flow or settings for the car screen (for AAOS) using
the templates in CAL.
Car App Library templates
Car App Library
templates allow for more in-app customization
and flexibility to bring more features to your media app
on Android Auto.
The following templates in particular will help you create a great
media experience:
Sectioned item template: The
sectioned item template
lets you mix and match lists and grids to create a customized browsing
structure. To get the latest updates and features, move any existing instances
of the list or grid templates into the sectioned item template.
Media Playback template: The
media playback template
lets you decide which
actions can be performed from the playback screen. You can choose which buttons
to show in the search results section and which playback buttons and images
to show (provided through media session).
Sign-in template: The
sign-in template
presents options for signing in to the app while parked.
Tab template: The
tab template
acts as a container for other templates, providing tabs across the top.
Figure 2. Sectioned item templateFigure 3. Media playback template
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-05-22 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eAndroid for Cars focuses on audio-centric media experiences (music, podcasts, audiobooks) optimized for car screens to minimize driver distraction.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eApp developers primarily design the content browsing structure and provide branding elements/icons, with the core visual design handled by Google and car manufacturers.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eOptional features include creating a sign-in process and settings specifically for the car environment using provided templates.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDevelopers can refer to detailed guides for creating media apps for both Android Auto and AAOS platforms, along with specific UX requirements.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Media apps\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n*Android for Cars* offers two ways to co-create media browsing and playing\nexperiences (such as for music, podcasts, and audio books) depending on the\nlevel of customization you need.\n**Figure 1.** A sample media app experience created using Car App Library templates\n\n1. **`MediaBrowserService` (MBS):** A done-for-you option, perfect for quickly\n creating a quality media app experience without customization.\n\n2. **Car App Library (CAL) templates:** Customizable templates provide\n guardrails to help you bring the best of your media app to the car without\n starting from the beginning.\n\nMediaBrowserService\n-------------------\n\nIf you'd like to create a basic media app with limited branding and\ncustomization, use `MediaBrowserService`. This is a lower-cost experience\nto let users browse content and play media.\n\nBecause the basic visual design and interaction model for much of the Android\nfor Cars media experience is determined by Google and car makers, your role in\ndesign is mostly focused on:\n\n- **Creating a browsing structure** for the content\n- **Supplying branding elements and icons** for navigational tabs and custom controls (if needed)\n\nDepending on your app, you may need to create additional flows, such as\na sign-in flow or settings for the car screen (for AAOS) using\nthe templates in CAL.\n\nCar App Library templates\n-------------------------\n\n[Car App Library](https://developer.android.com/training/cars/apps)\ntemplates allow for more in-app customization\nand flexibility to bring more features to your media app\non Android Auto.\n| **Beta:** Templated media apps are a beta-release feature. You can publish templated media apps to internal and closed testing tracks on the Play Store, but not to open testing and production tracks. You may [nominate yourself to become an early access partner](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf0z4Nfw8wrloVhlgHDpLgdkg4WXsFj9ni5c1pw0qTvJ3Q4fQ/viewform).\n\nThe following templates in particular will help you create a great\nmedia experience:\n\n- **Sectioned item template:** The\n [sectioned item template](/cars/design/create-apps/apps-for-drivers/templates/sectioned-item-template)\n lets you mix and match lists and grids to create a customized browsing\n structure. To get the latest updates and features, move any existing instances\n of the list or grid templates into the sectioned item template.\n\n- **Media Playback template:** The\n [media playback template](/cars/design/create-apps/apps-for-drivers/templates/media-playback-template)\n lets you decide which\n actions can be performed from the playback screen. You can choose which buttons\n to show in the search results section and which playback buttons and images\n to show (provided through media session).\n\n- **Sign-in template:** The\n [sign-in template](/cars/design/create-apps/apps-for-drivers/templates/sign-in-template)\n presents options for signing in to the app while parked.\n\n- **Tab template:** The\n [tab template](/cars/design/create-apps/apps-for-drivers/templates/tab-template)\n acts as a container for other templates, providing tabs across the top.\n\n| **Note:** Media apps for the car feature audio content, rather than video, to help users focus on the road. For video experiences, see [Parked and passenger apps](/cars/design/create-apps/app-types/parked-passenger).\n**Figure 2.** Sectioned item template **Figure 3.** Media playback template\n\nGet started\n-----------\n\nTo learn how to use the\ntemplates in CAL, see\n[Build apps with templates](/cars/design/create-apps/apps-for-drivers/build-with-templates).\n\nExamples\n--------\n\nFor a closer look at the media experience in Android Auto, see\n[Android Auto \\\u003e Media apps](/cars/design/android-auto/apps/media-apps). To see\nhow the experience works in cars with Google built-in, see\n[Automotive OS \\\u003e Media apps](/cars/design/automotive-os/apps/media/overview).\n| **Note:** For technical details about how to build this experience, see [Build media apps for cars](https://developer.android.com/training/cars/media).\n\nUX requirements\n---------------\n\nMedia apps need to meet the [Media app requirements](/cars/design/create-apps/ux-requirements/media-apps)."]]
