Android Auto users, a new update is about to make your life a little easier. May brought a wave of updates to the Google UI for Vehicles platform, including one that will completely overhaul your dashboard. The updates also provide widgets for drivers and improvements to Google Maps. However, a new feature currently seeing the light of day in the Android Auto beta will make switching between certain apps much easier for users.
Spotted by Android Authority, Google is pushing a new update that will bring sliding media cards to your dashboard. Essentially, this means you can switch between media apps and streaming apps more easily, and your media cards will still be available in Android Auto. Although some automakers are abandoning Android Auto, the new update should be a welcome addition for those who use it.
Time will tell when this feature makes it to public versions of Android Auto, although users who frequently use multiple apps will definitely appreciate the update once it becomes available. It will also be interesting to see how well this new feature plays with Android Auto’s recent support for Full HD video in vehicles with compatible infotainment screens. Google is also introducing “visual tweaks” for certain media apps, such as YouTube and Spotify.
Sliding Media Cards Found in Android Auto Beta
Najmi Arif/Shutterstock
The new swiping media card feature has been proven to work in Android Auto version 17.0.162144-release.daily and allows users to easily manage the media controls displayed on their dashboard. Before this version, Android Auto only showed one media card, so if you were using YouTube Music and wanted to switch to Spotify, you had to switch between them manually, but you’d lose the controls for the first one when doing so.
Fortunately, this will no longer be the case with the new update, as it allows you to swipe between these media cards. These cards can be very useful, as they typically display a streaming service’s media controls or even metadata about the media being played. It’s not the most revolutionary feature ever imagined, but it will certainly be useful to those who need it.
No information has been provided on when the feature will be made public, so Android Auto users will have to keep their eyes peeled. Alongside some major platform updates, Google is also making a big push to make its proprietary Gemini AI agent much more active in the Android Auto experience, and we can offer you some clever ways to take advantage of that.
