Google unveiled a preview of an Android Auto update at Google I/O in May.
A fresh design and features were coming for the infotainment system. The corporation had stated at the time that it would arrive by the end of the summer.
Sadly, there was no update on the new Android Auto as the summer passed. Google is finally releasing the update today, sort of.
For the time being, the redesign will only be available to public beta testers.
You can see that the public beta roster is full by visiting the Android Auto page on the Google Play Store. That means you won’t be able to try this out just yet if you haven’t previously registered for the beta.
Google didn’t provide any information on when the full distribution of this update will start. It did, however, provide us with a clearer picture of what to anticipate.
Overall, the new Android Auto UI is better structured, cleaner, and presents important information more clearly. Additionally, split-screening is more efficient.
Google is emphasising the following significant changes:
- Your map will now be larger and easier to access in the new dashboard, which is closer to the driver.
- The media card on the dashboard has a completely new appearance and dynamically expands and contracts.
- Users now have more options for layouts on large screens thanks to the ability to make the map occupy the entire Android Auto space.
- To make it simple to switch between recently used apps with just one tap, a new app dock has been added to the rail.
- More system components now use Material You and have improved UI elements and layouts.
- With just one swipe of the dashboard media card, you can now receive Google Assistant’s recommendations for music and other media.
- There is now a single, easily readable, tap-able area on the rail that combines the previous status symbols and notification centre bell with the amount of unread messages.
To make it simple to switch between recently used apps with just one tap, a new app dock has been added to the rail.
More system components now use Material You and have improved UI elements and layouts.
With just one swipe of the dashboard media card, you can now receive Google Assistant’s recommendations for music and other media.
The previous status icons and bell from the notification centre have been combined into a single, tappable area on the rail that contains the amount of unread messages and is simple to understand.
