Nearly two years ago, Toyota stunned much of the auto world when it revealed that it had no plans to offer Apple CarPlay or Android Auto on any of its vehicles. Instead, Toyota said that it was going to build an infotainment system of its own.
New reports indicate that work on that system is proceeding quickly, and it’s going to run on the open-source platform Linux–specifically, a product called Automotive Grade Linux, or AGL. According to a press release:
“The AGL infotainment platform was built from the ground up by hundreds of engineers across the industry who contributed code to develop a robust, Linux-based operating system and application framework with increased security and capabilities. Automakers and suppliers can customize the platform with features, services and branding to meet their product and customer needs. Toyota actively contributes code back to the AGL platform and will be sharing additional code as their next-generation infotainment system is rolled out.”
The as-yet-unnamed infotainment system will debut later this summer on the 2018 Toyota Camry, with other Toyota and Lexus vehicles to follow.
Our take
Toyota isn’t the only automaker to be working with AGL. A quick look at the AGL website reveals that quite a number of major players are using it in some capacity, including Ford, Honda, Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Subaru.