Improve your Android Auto experience by doing these simple things

Android Auto is arguably one of the most useful tools available to drivers today, but most people only use it with the default settings, missing out on some really cool features. You connect your phone, the interface loads, and you accept whatever Google has decided to serve you. That’s an understandable starting point, but Android Auto offers so much more: lots of extra features that can help you optimize it for your particular needs.

The truth is that Android Auto has a surprisingly large number of settings and features. With a few fine adjustments, you can significantly change the platform’s performance, reducing distractions, improving safety, and making your car feel more like yours. From cleaning a cluttered home screen to unlocking hidden developer options, controlling media playback and switching to Google’s Gemini Assistant, many simple changes can have a big impact.

With over 250 million cars using Android Auto worldwide, there are so many options for getting the most out of what this app has to offer, whether you’re a Sunday driver or a daily commuter. Let’s go over some of the simple steps you can take to improve your Android Auto experience.

There are so many things you can use Android Auto for. Of course, you can mainly use it to display the map you need to get to work, your vacation spot, or any other destination you need to reach. It can also become the interface you need to make calls, respond to messages, and generally stay in touch with the world. A few small tweaks can make Android Auto a million times better, so let’s review some of the best.

You can clean the Android Auto home screen

For no good reason, Android Auto embeds a dozen apps on the home screen. Mine inexplicably had one icon for opening Adobe Acrobat and another for IFTTT. Don’t get me wrong, these are fantastic apps to use on your smartphone, but will I ever use them in my car? Absolutely not! By going to Android Auto > Customize Launcheryou can decide which apps stay and which are hidden. Keep what you need there and leave the rest behind. There’s no good reason to cycle through so many icons if you’re not going to use them. Keep your navigation app of choice, calling and messaging tools, and your media playback. That’s it.

You can also take this opportunity to sort apps according to your needs, pushing the ones you know you use most often to the top so you can access them more easily. The last thing you want to do is spend unnecessary time scrolling through the car’s infotainment screen when you’re supposed to be focusing on traffic.

Look, Android Auto has some great settings to play with, but others are buried. Developer mode is not just for engineers and you can bring up hidden options that can help you with troubleshooting and customization.

1. Open Android Auto on your phone and scroll down. When you see About Or Version at the bottom, tap it about 10 times until a confirmation message appears.

2. You can now tap on the three-dot menu at the top and navigate to Developer Settings.

If you want to ensure that Android Auto always connects to your car wirelessly, you can check the corresponding box. However, this feature will quickly drain your phone’s battery and there is some lag that you should be well aware of. If you want to stick to a wired connection, you can simply uncheck the box. The Developer Settings is also where you can force the video resolution to certain values ​​if you want to make sure everything looks sharp even when the internet is slower.

Force Android Auto theme

For your Maps app, Android Auto automatically switches between night and day modes. However, if you prefer one or the other, exit the developer settings and you can force the theme to either. We get it: Dark mode is perfect for night driving; It’s easier on the eyes and reduces screen glare, so you may also want to use it during the day.

One of the features you can easily access in Android Auto will ensure that the app loads on your car’s infotainment as soon as you get in the car, without having to unlock your phone. This is especially useful if you’re using the wireless version since you won’t have to search for your smartphone. It also means you’ll move forward more quickly, which may very well be a safety gain. This works whether your car has native wireless Android Auto access or if you use an adapter.

Control media autoplay

By default, once Android Auto is connected, media playback resumes. It’s great…most of the time. Other times, not so much. If you left the volume really high the night before, you might very well get scared when the music starts blasting. You also may not want your book or podcast to automatically resume in the morning while the kids are loaded into the car.

To fix this, open Android Auto, scroll down to Start music automatically, and turn the feature on or off, depending on your preference.

Google’s Gemini AI assistant is available in Android Auto for most of the year, as the company will retire its old assistant this fall. You can anticipate the change and modify it yourself if you haven’t already. Go to Android Auto > Digital Assistant > Manage your digital assistant > Google Digital Assistants and choose Gemini. This is also the menu where you can choose which Gemini voice you want to use, where you can choose to just speak to interrupt Gemini’s ramblings and give Google’s AI more information about your life for better results (by allowing it to analyze text and images on the screen, for example).

So how exactly can you use Gemini? Well, that’s the cool part. Return to Android Auto > Customize Launcher and press Add a Launcher Shortcut > Action Wizard. You can even leave this on your Android Auto screen if you want.

Type the command you want for the wizard, give it a name, and test it before saving it. The one I have set up is: “Send me home, check my current ETA, and text (husband’s name) that I’m on my way and should arrive (ETA).” This sets my house as the target destination and sends a WhatsApp message to my husband telling him when I should arrive. You can go further and ask it to check traffic on your route, play a specific playlist on Spotify, and read you your daily schedule. If you have smart gadgets at home, you can include them in your routine by having the robot vacuum run just as you leave for work, or having the thermostat turn on so you come home to the perfect temperature. The possibilities are endless, especially since you can add as many as you want.

None of these modifications require third-party tools or advanced technical knowledge. They are easy to implement and can significantly improve your Android Auto experience. They contribute to a smoother, safer and more personalized driving experience, and that’s exactly what we all want.