Android Auto gets a makeover for 2026

Google says 2026 will be one of the biggest years for Android. However, this feeling isn’t limited to its mobile operating system, because today at the Android Show: I/O Edition the company revealed a ton of major changes coming to Android Auto and cars with Google built-in.

The first big change is a complete overhaul of Android Auto’s UI with Google’s Material 3 Expressive design, which adds more striking fonts, updated wallpapers, and smoother animations. Additionally, the company borrows widgets from its mobile division and adds them to your car’s screen, giving you more freedom to customize your layout while providing more information at a glance. Widgets include things like shortcuts for your favorite contacts, a weather bug, and virtual buttons for digital garage door openers. Google even claims that Android Auto will be able to adapt its layout to accommodate cars with unusually shaped screens, like the funky parallelogram screen that BMW is using in the new i7.

That said, perhaps the most notable improvement to Android Auto is what Google calls Immersive Navigation, which is based on detailed 3D maps that show much more detail, including the location of traffic lights, stop signs, lane counts, and nearby buildings. Meanwhile, Google is continuing its AI push in Android Auto with some new Gemini features, including better context awareness and support for Magic Cue, the latter of which we first saw last year on the Pixel 10 family. In some ways, the ability for Gemini to surface things like addresses, appointments, and other information is arguably even more useful when you’re driving, as it should give you more freedom to focus on the road instead of looking at a screen (or even worse, your phone).

As for general entertainment, Google is upgrading Android Auto’s video capabilities with support for HD playback at up to 60fps. It will arrive later this year across a wide range of brands, including BMW, Ford, Kia, Hyundai, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz. Additionally, if you start driving while watching a movie, Android Auto will be able to switch the clip to audio-only mode, which is ideal if you’re watching something like a video podcast. Google says other media apps like YouTube Music and Spotify are also getting visual updates, while Android Auto supports spatial audio via Dolby Atmos (assuming your car has the appropriate speakers and a green light from the manufacturer).

Google

Finally, for cars with Google Built-in (sometimes called Android Automotive), the company is opening up much deeper integration between your vehicle’s operating system and hardware. For example, if you use Gemini to ask questions in a picked-up vehicle, the AI ​​can respond with specific answers like what a light on your dashboard means or whether an item you’re trying to take home will actually fit in your trunk. Alternatively, when using immersive navigation in Google Maps, models with Google built-in will be able to provide more precise guidance using your car’s onboard cameras to better understand which lane you are in while providing real-time directions.

While there’s no specific timeline for when these features will be available on your car/phone, Google says updates to Android Auto and vehicles with Google Built-in will roll out later this year.