Here are the latest updates of Google’s Android Auto
Even though not in the news so often, Google has been actively working on improving Android Auto , its own in-car interface that presents apps and content from the smartphone on the in-car display. It was designed with the main goal for drivers to rely only on a couple of swipes across the in-car display or the famous “Okay Google” command in order to keep eyes off smartphone screens and maintain safety on the road. Here are some of the latest updates of Android Auto features by Google.
We already wrote about Apple Music integration with Android Auto, a big step in a similar direction for Google and Apple, as until that point Google Play Music and Spotify were the only options for the users. The latest update to media apps was a change in the interface which from now on allows easier browsing through the app. Google has changed the main focus from Now Playing to browsing which will take up most space on the main screen, while Now Playing will be present but in the bottom light corner. Besides this, the Google Assistant search for songs, albums or podcasts is improved making it easier to look for an artist or an album in music apps.
Furthermore, as texting is a big part of most people’s daily lives, Google is adjusting the messaging feature of Android Auto to suit the drivers a bit more. So far, upcoming messages were only heard by text-to-speech feature, but the update brings a text preview when the car is not in motion allowing the driver to see the message itself during a break. Addition to this update is “Always preview messages” option that enables messages to be shown at all times, but this part of the feature has to be manually set from the settings. Android Auto also got a support for MMS and RCS, besides the regular SMS, which brings Hangouts, WhatsApp and other similar apps more options, among them, being group messaging.
If you are interested in reading more about Android Auto and what it offers, check out:
Android Auto: What is it? How does it work?
