WARD DRIVE OS

Infotainment launcher for Samsung Galaxy S20 / S21 (Android 10+): a car-style cockpit with built-in turn-by-turn navigation on a 3D satellite map, media, phone, texts, apps, voice and settings pages — every page wired to the real phone, nothing simulated.

Download APK · v2.5.0 (21 MB) See every feature verified on-device (63 screenshots)

New in 2.5 — boot video, TomTom routing & traffic, Google-ready

Boot video: the Grand Caravan infotainment start-up plays on every cold start (tap to skip; Setup → Display → Boot video).
Your folders in the cockpit: Files → Add folder (or Drive) picks any folder once, including a Google Drive folder like SNIPSHARE/MIRROR; its contents then browse inside the cockpit, with images and text/markdown/JSON opening in place.
TomTom: traffic-aware routing with live delay and toll info becomes the primary route engine (slow and jammed stretches painted on the route), TomTom place search, TomTom satellite imagery with road labels, and live traffic flow + incident tiles under the map. OSRM / Photon / Esri remain as fallbacks.
Google Maps Platform: Routes, Places, Map Tiles and Street View are wired in and switch on automatically once the project's billing is active (Setup → Connections shows the live status).

New in 2.4 — every app inside the cockpit + Waze live

Apps open in the cockpit: tap any app and it renders as a Ward Drive page in the same style, fed by the app's real data. Calendar (your events, tap to navigate to the location), Contacts (call / text), Photos, Files, Clock (next alarm, timers), Settings (Android quick panels overlay the cockpit), a built-in Browser and Weather. Every other app shows its live notification feed, its launcher shortcuts and an "Open in app" button. Hold a tile to open the app itself.
Waze live: jams drawn on the map coloured by severity and alert markers (police, accidents, hazards, closures) refreshed every minute while driving and every 3 minutes while browsing. Route previews show Waze's live-traffic ETA, via road, toll price and alerts on the route. While driving, alerts ahead on your route are announced ("Police reported ahead in half a mile"). Ask "what's ahead".
Car puck, height-shaded 3D buildings (from 2.3) and everything below.

2.3 — infotainment cockpit

Home: map with in-map search, Satellite / 3D pills and round keys; a cockpit pane with the route card, now playing and quick access (Home, Work, Call, Assistant). While driving the turn card moves into the pane so the map stays clear.
Maps: Where to? search with live results, Home / Work pills, saved and recent destinations, Start guidance, and a Trip computer listing every maneuver.
Media: full now-playing view of the active media session (Spotify first): artwork, seek bar, transport keys, queue when the player shares one, volume slider.
Phone: starred contacts and your real call log, Bluetooth status, a dial pad that places calls.
Texts: your SMS conversations, read aloud, quick replies and typed replies sent from the dash.
Apps, Voice, Setup, Updates: the launcher drawer, a voice command center with suggested commands, settings grouped by Display / Navigation / Audio / Connections / System, and a notification center for alerts received while driving.
3D map, fullscreen and resizable panes from 2.2 are all still there.

What it does

Android launcher: set Ward Drive OS as your Home app (⚙ → Default Launcher). ⊞ opens an app drawer with Phone, Messages, Maps and Camera pinned and every installed app searchable; the Home key always returns to the dashboard.
Messages on the dash: incoming texts and chat notifications appear in a banner and are read aloud (toggle in ⚙), so the phone stays in its mount.
Search any place or address with live suggestions; Home, Work, favorites and recent trips one tap away.
Route preview with alternatives, then in-app turn-by-turn: spoken prompts (Spotify ducks while it talks), lane arrows, exit numbers, ETA and automatic rerouting.
Satellite or vector street map (day / night styles), heading-up 3D driving view, auto night mode at sunset.
Posted speed limit sign with over-speed warning (OpenStreetMap data).
Guidance keeps running in the background with a live notification when you switch to Spotify.
Voice: say a place, "go home", "go to work", "play", "pause", "next", "mute", "end route".

Install

Tap Download, then open the file from the notification.
If prompted, allow Install unknown apps for your browser. Installing over v1.x keeps your settings.
Open Ward Drive OS → Allow precise location and notifications. Turn on Location if asked.
Setup → Connections: enable Spotify & messages access (media controls, alerts read aloud), Phone, contacts & call log and SMS access. If a switch is greyed out: Settings → Apps → Ward Drive OS → ⋮ → Allow restricted settings.
To use it as your home screen: Setup → System → Default launcher → choose Ward Drive OS. Press Home from any app to get back to the cockpit.

SHA-256 ab1cf6f559d3b314b534434033cf5a6de9bf8fb7fc30b6991510b7a26a5e6cef

Imagery © Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics. Street map and buildings © OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Map engine MapLibre. Routing by OSRM, search by Photon.