Polestar has announced the development of a video streaming app for its Polestar 2 vehicle. The app, currently in its beta stage, will be made available to the European market and will enable web-based streaming of videos from several providers to the vehicle’s 11in center display.
“We have released the new Polestar video app in beta form so that our customers can start to enjoy the benefits of in-car video streaming sooner rather than later,” commented Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar. “We will receive feedback – both good and bad – that will help to refine the app based on thousands of use cases, rather than a small, defined set. We will also continue to add channels in the future, which gives the app huge growth potential since it is realistically able to integrate any web-based streams.”
Streaming content will include news and national TV broadcasts alongside a video playlist created by Polestar itself. At initial launch, the app will include feeds from TV2 in Norway, SVT in Sweden and GOPlay and RTBF in Belgium. Users will also be able to experience streams from BBC Ideas, Al Jazeera English and Germany’s Tagesschau, with additional feeds to be added in the future.
Android Automotive is the operating system in the Polestar 2, which will enable streamlined development and testing of apps via an online emulator in the developer portal, allowing Polestar to release new apps efficiently.
The video app can only be used when the vehicle is not in motion – when users are charging the vehicle, for example. Upon switching out of park, the video’s audio will continue in the background. Polestar says that data used by the app is included in the vehicle’s data plan, which means there won’t be any extra costs for users or owners.
