Android Auto brings your favorite apps to your car’s infotainment system. Use voice commands to access thousands of media, communication and navigation apps.
Navigate to your destination using Google Maps, or stay on top of news and weather. Text or call your mom hands-free, and play games to keep you awake on long drives.
Maps
Android Auto is a way to bring some of the best features of your compatible smartphone into your car in a safe, simple and easy-to-use way. It’s designed to help you keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel while also being able to make calls, listen to music, use Google Assistant, and get directions with voice commands.
The app has a new look and feel, which is designed to be less distracting while you’re driving. It also has new button designs and a cleaner layout to make it easier to focus on the map and your navigation.
With Android Auto, you can navigate to any location, find millions of POIs and landmarks, get real-time traffic data, and save money with fuel prices and parking options. It’s also possible to stay safe on the roads with lane guidance, dynamic speed limit alerts and pedestrian crossing warnings. In addition, Sygic is one of the only GPS apps with support for Android Auto. It offers the latest navigation and travel information in a distraction-free experience with large touch targets, a split-screen interface and easy voice actions.
Music
Many music-streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music are available for Android Auto. These apps provide a large selection of songs and albums and allow you to download tracks for use when you don’t have mobile data or are using a limited data plan. They also allow you to control playback with voice commands and skip songs or playlists without taking your hands off the wheel.
Google has recently released Android Auto 10.2, which includes a search feature for music. It also offers improved Google Assistant-powered results for browsing and playing music. Users will be able to search by song name or artist, and the results will be more organized.
Android Auto limits the number of media items displayed in the browse tree and during playback to minimize distractions for drivers. To limit the number of items displayed, your app must set the initial PlaybackStateCompat of its media session to STATE_STOPPED, STATE_PAUSED, or STATE_NONE. You can include additional metadata indicators for at-a-glance status information on content in the browse tree by calling the onLoadChildren() method. See the Universal Android Music Player sample app on GitHub for a full example of this.
Calls
Google’s Android Auto software can handle calls and texting while you’re driving, displaying who’s calling on the head unit speakers and allowing you to respond using voice commands or your car’s touchscreen. It’s compatible with a wide range of chat and text applications, including Google Messenger, WhatsApp, and Telegram.
However, a bug that started in June has made it impossible to make calls through the feature, according to multiple reports on Google’s Android Auto help forums. The Google Assistant recognises a call request and even digs up the correct name and number from your contacts, but then the phone just rings in the vehicle and doesn’t switch to its active call interface.
It’s not clear if this is an issue with the software or the actual mobile connection. A few users have also reported their calls disconnecting mid-call, though this is more likely related to cellular reception rather than Android Auto.
Texts
Have you ever forgotten to text your friend back or sent a response when it was actually meant for another time? Automated texting helps you avoid those situations by enabling you to respond automatically or schedule messages to be sent at a later date and time. Android Auto support for automated messaging is a great feature to have as it can be used in both personal and professional applications.
Android Auto can read incoming texts aloud so that you don’t need to look at your phone while driving. It can also summarize long messages, like a contact asking about dinner plans, into a few quick response options that you can choose from.
You can access the texts feature of Android Auto by saying “Hey Google” or giving the steering wheel voice button a prolonged press. This will launch Google Assistant, which can do many things, including playing your favorite playlist, navigating to your favorite restaurant and checking your calendar. You can also use it to search the web and answer questions. It can even tell you what the weather is like outside your current location.
Games
While you probably won’t be playing FIFA on your car’s infotainment screen, Google’s new Android Auto feature lets you play a handful of simple games while parked. The feature combines Google Assistant with GameSnacks, an HTML5 platform developed by Google’s Area 120 in-house incubator, to offer players voice-based games that don’t require them to look at the screen.
While the addition isn’t as exciting as having access to the likes of Trivia Crack and Jeopardy, it’ll likely prove popular among electric car owners who spend a lot of time in their cars waiting for them to charge up. However, it’s worth noting that Android Auto only lets drivers play games if they’re parked, and an error message will pop up if you try to launch the app while moving.
This is most likely a safety measure to prevent drivers from getting distracted by the game, which could potentially block out navigation or display other important information on the screen. To start a game, you’ll need to ask Google Assistant to wake up and then choose one of the available titles.
