Google recently rolled out an update to its Personal Safety app on Pixel devices. A recent release deconstruction has revealed new strings that suggest Pixel’s exclusive car troubleshooting feature may soon make its way to other Android phones.
The following strings in Personal Safety v2022.05.25 (via Mishaal Rahman) clearly refer to “nonpixel” in the string names, indicating that the Car Crash Detection feature may not be a pixel-exclusive show for long.
crash_settings_check_user_status_body_text_nonpixelncrash_settings_emergency_alert_body_text_nonpixelncrash_settings_footnote_nonpixelFor the unaware, car crash detection is currently only available on Google Pixel devices, and it uses location, motion sensors, and ambient sound to detect a car crash. Once it detects a malfunction, it beeps loudly and asks users if they need any help. If you don’t answer, it automatically calls 911 and shares your phone’s location. Interestingly, the feature works even when the Personal Security app is not in use.
I don’t know what arrangement Google has with OEMs, but they probably share the source code for a nanoapp that OEMs will have to compile, sign, and integrate into their builds.
– Mishaal Rahman June 28, 2022
Although Google has not shared any details about the rollout yet, Mishaal Rahman speculates that it may not roll out to all non-Pixel devices simultaneously. That’s because the feature relies on the Context Run Environment (CHRE) nanoapp implementation, which OEMs have to compile, sign, and integrate into their software versions. Since Google does not currently require OEMs to implement CHRE on their builds, Car Crash Detection may see a limited release on some non-Pixel devices. But this could change if Google forces CHRE to be implemented.
At the moment, it’s not clear how Google plans to bring vehicle fault detection to non-pixel devices. The company can either provide OEMs with the nanoapp source code or provide a pre-compiled version to help OEMs easily integrate it into their software versions. We’ll make sure to let you know as soon as we have more details.
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