CARA
Cara is CarStream’s voice assistant on the car screen. Talk to it like a person — Cara plays music, navigates, answers questions, switches widget cards and splits the screen. Watch the video below, or tap the scene you want. For the rest of the app, see How to use.
CALLING CARA
Press ⏭ twice on the wheel
Press the next-track button (⏭) twice in a row, wait for the chime, then speak. The quickest way while driving — hands stay on the wheel, and any car with a next button works.
Cara tile on the left bar
Tap the Cara tile on the app bar at the left of the car screen. Want a tidier bar? Turn the tile off in Settings — pressing ⏭ twice still works.
Floating Cara on the car screen
Turn on Floating Cara on the car screen in Settings: Cara sits on top of everything, even full-screen video and the launcher. Drag it anywhere, tap to call.
Say “Hey Cara”
Turn on Say “Hey Cara” to call in Settings, then just say “Hey Cara” in the car — no tapping. The first time, the app downloads the voice model (about 35 MB); your voice is recognised on the phone and never sent anywhere. Needs microphone permission; very loud music can drown it out.
When you finish, pause for about a second and Cara knows you are done. Cara answers in text on the car screen and reads it out through the car speakers.
WHAT TO SAY
No commands to learn — just speak naturally. Here are a few examples.
Music
Say a song or artist, or control what is playing. It plays on YouTube by default; name another app to use that one.
- play Noi nay co anh
- Son Tung songs
- kids’ songs
- next song
- stop
- play Hay trao cho anh on Spotify
Works with YouTube, YouTube Music, Spotify and Zing MP3. Say something vague like “something upbeat” and AI picks a song.
Navigation
Directions to a place, home, work, or the nearest something. With several results Cara shows a list and you pick by number.
- take me home
- go to work
- find the nearest petrol station
- ATM nearby
- the second one
- how far is it?
- stop navigation
- directions to Hoan Kiem Lake with Waze
Uses CarStream Map (needs the Map add-on), Google Maps or Waze. After opening Google Maps, Cara comes back to CarStream by itself.
Quick questions
Ask the time, the weather, where you parked — Cara answers right on the car screen.
- what time is it?
- will it rain today?
- where did I park?
Switch widget cards
Change the widget card on the home screen or launcher without touching anything.
- show the weather card
- show fuel prices
Open apps, split the screen
Open a phone app on the car screen, or put two or three apps side by side.
- open Zalo
- Maps on the left, YouTube on the right
- enlarge the left pane
- back to one screen
Needs the Launcher turned on (Android 11 or later).
One sentence, many tasks — and ask AI
Put several tasks in one sentence and Cara does them in turn. If it isn’t a command, Cara asks AI and reads the answer.
- show the weather, then play Son Tung
- good places to eat in Da Lat
- what to see on the way to Vung Tau?
Asking AI needs a connection; long questions may take a few seconds.
CARA SETTINGS
On the phone: Settings › Cara assistant. Some of these are also in the Settings panel on the car screen.
TIPS
- Name the app at the end to choose it: “… with Waze”, “… on Spotify”, “… with CarStream Map”.
- Several results? Pick by number: “the second one”, “the first one”. Say nothing and Cara counts down, then picks for you.
- Calls, messages, volume: use your car’s buttons — Cara can’t do these yet.
- Splitting the screen by voice only works while using the Launcher (Android 11 or later).
- Cara misheard? Say it again a little slower. When Cara isn’t sure, it asks instead of guessing.
Cara comes with CarStream — nothing extra to buy. Don’t have the app yet? See the install guide or the FAQ.