New Android Auto update will change the way you use your dashboard

If you’re a big Android Auto user, you’ll be happy to know that Google has announced that the platform will be getting a huge update with a host of feature changes and a complete visual overhaul. Google Maps is part of this refresh, with sleeker, more user-friendly app upgrades – it’s the biggest update to Maps in a long time. This is big news, because Google Maps is easily one of the most essential Android Auto apps.

The change you’ll notice most is Google’s Material 3 Expressive design, which itself is an update to the company’s Material Design 3 or “Material You” design philosophy. The biggest difference with Google’s latest design initiative is the emphasis on animations, which the company says promote “more usable and engaging products with an emotion-driven UX (user experience). For Android Auto, that means new visually appealing fonts, more vivid animations with more style, and updated visual components like wallpapers to the Android phone experience.

Another major visual change is how the updated Android Auto adapts to the shape of your vehicle’s screen. The platform has supported landscape, portrait, ultrawide, and even circular screen layouts for years, but the experience hasn’t always been perfect. Now Android Auto uses more of the available display area on irregular screen shapes.

Home screen widgets have also arrived and work like Android widgets, giving you important information at a glance and quick access to your most used apps. In Auto mode, this includes your favorite contacts, garage door controls, traffic and weather information, and much more. This is part of a concerted effort to improve Android Auto – several electric car brands have already seen a hugely useful Android Auto upgrade before this. While the bigger development in this latest update has to do with the visual improvements and improved user experience, that’s not the only major change.

Beyond the visual overhaul, there are several other improvements to explore in this update. Google says these new features will be rolled out in batches, with some features coming “soon” and others not coming until “later this year.”

HD video playback via Android Auto will begin rolling out later this year in the YouTube app. Once parked, you can watch YouTube videos at 60fps on compatible vehicle screens. If you turn your car on, the videos will automatically switch to audio-only format so you can listen to them safely. Along with this, support for Dolby Atmos will be coming soon, as well as visual updates to the Spotify and YouTube Music apps. Immersive maps for Google Maps will also start to appear, with details like 3D buildings and highlighting of lanes, traffic lights, stop signs, and more.

For those using Gemini, you’ll be happy to know that Google is also adding enhanced Gemini Intelligence to Android Auto with this update. Of course, there are already some nifty ways to use Gemini on Android Auto, but this update expands its capabilities. According to Google, it “not only looks and sounds great” but also “has a more helpful Gemini” for getting things done.

If your friends or family send a text message asking a question or requiring specific information, Gemini’s new “Magic Cue” feature will be able to find relevant information in other text messages, emails or calendar events and then offer to send a response. This way, you stay focused on the road while benefiting from a smarter, more contextual assistant to carry out other tasks. Finally, you’ll even be able to use Gemini to order dinner on the way home or complete other tasks in certain apps with enhanced agent capabilities.