Before Android Auto came along I used to use an OBD2 dongle attached to my car and an app on the phone to monitor various functions of my car while it was running. Android Auto did not bring built in support for this when it did arrive even though it seemed a perfect addition. Now a third party developer is bringing it to Android Auto.
One of the best OBD2 dashboards available for Android is Torque Pro and a developer has now finally figured out a way to visualise the Torque Pro dashboard on Android Auto through the use of a plugin. The dashboard displayed is at this stage only a very basic dashboard with gauge numbers having to be between one and fifteen but there is still a large amount of detail that can be included:
- Each gauge can have three adjustable colours
- Gauges can be set to reverse. eg. for fuel levels
- Unit for each gauge can be changed eg. freetext: RPM, %, MPH, KM/H, etc
- Needle, arch and text value for each gauge can be toggled on or off
- Levels for each colour can be adjusted on each gauge separately
The developer has posted two videos showing firstly a proof of concept and secondly it functioning correctly in the car:
The way Torque Pro works is that it sets a basic dashboard and framework for others to work with using plugins. Plugins add specific, advanced functionality to Torque Pro. Torque Pro is a paid app, as are many plugins so don’t expect to get this advanced feature for nothing (and you shouldn’t).
The app is currently in Alpha testing for a small number of people but full release is expected in only a couple of weeks. We have reached out to the developer for more information and will keep you posted on its full launch.
Is this something you have been crying out for like myself? Will you make use of it?
This is cool! Does it work with the Android Auto app? Or just the headunits?
Just the headunits, running the AA app on the phone itself doesn’t support the car tab.
Thank you Scott for the very nice article.
The said news is that Google doesn’t allow the app to be listed on Play Store, however it is now available on XDA Labs. The app thread can be found here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android-auto/android-auto-general/app-obd2-plugin-android-auto-torque-t3657805 and the app can be purchased from https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/uk.co.boconi.emil.obd2aa
Finally! Been waiting for this to come to Android Auto since it’s inception. Might get some use out of money OBD2 Bluetooth adapter now.