Google’s split-screen Android Auto revamp is rolling out now
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I have always liked Android Auto's more efficient use of screen real estate over Apple CarPlay. This revamp seems to make it even better in that regard.
I hope Apple is taking notes.
I hope Apple is taking notes.
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One of the big pain points for Android Auto has been limited app support. Some have even dropped Android Auto support, IIRC!
So the fact that all these updates are going to apply to all Android Auto apps automatically is actually a really big deal and I'm super glad it's happening that way. Kudos, Google!
So the fact that all these updates are going to apply to all Android Auto apps automatically is actually a really big deal and I'm super glad it's happening that way. Kudos, Google!
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What were the actual dimension/aspect ratio limits for AA? Because in our Mach-E, you can make the "main" window which is used by AA two different sizes and it resized just fine to fit both.
The multiple panes is a nice touch now. Probably not terribly useful if Maps is going to take up the majority of the screen but I'm using the car's built in Nav though. We'll see if I have the update next time I go for a drive.
The multiple panes is a nice touch now. Probably not terribly useful if Maps is going to take up the majority of the screen but I'm using the car's built in Nav though. We'll see if I have the update next time I go for a drive.
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So with this new flexibility, it should be easy for them to bring back Android Auto for phone screens right? Especially now that they've killed off the terrible Google Driving Assistant that was supposed to replace Android Auto for phone screens? Please?
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with the way google rolls these things out I wish I could tell if I've actually gotten the update or not!
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So I looked at the Play Store on my phone, which is showing last update being Dec 1, and patch notes that don't seem to indicate any changes similar to described, so I don't think it's made it to me yet.
That said having a version number for this update would be useful.
That said having a version number for this update would be useful.
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Split screen (maps + music + other) debuted in CarPlay in 2019. Apple began supporting multiple screens in 2021.
Seems like Google is the one taking notes.
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Is this just an update on my phone, or do I have to update the car's head unit? I'm assuming the former? Seems like a staged rollout since the Play Store still shows Dec 1, 2022 for Android Auto for me.
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The point of AA is that updates are independent of the head unit running it which, until recently, basically never got updates at all. You'll get the new UI without any update to your car.
However, if your car is just exposing a small portion of the screen to AA and using the rest for something else, this won't change that.
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I'm showing the 1 Dec version as 8.5.x but there's a version on apkmirror at 8.6.x.
That doesn't necessarily mean grabbing that 8.6 apk would give you the new UI though. Google likes to have a server side switch for big changes like this a lot of the time. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case here.
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I don't care about car screens. I just want out ON MY PHONE SCREEN.
Google maps driving mode is useless and absolutely makes my drives less safe.
Google maps driving mode is useless and absolutely makes my drives less safe.
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Honest question: ASSUMING this can be done with the vehicle in motion, and the driver reads the incoming message, and a recipient receives a message as a text, how is this NOT texting while driving?
If it's ONLY when the vehicle isn't in motion at all, then no harm, no foul.
The article isn't exactly forthcoming on how this feature works, but it would probably run afoul of the laws in most states banning texting while driving if it's accessible while the vehicle is in motion. I remember Google Glass ran into the same kind of thing by putting a video screen in a driver's eye with potentially distracting images and those got mostly outlawed (if they weren't already covered by existing) pretty quickly. It strikes me that this could have issues with the same kinds of laws.
It being Google, which makes a habit of repeating its mistakes, I was wondering if someone there overlooked the fact that if a car is in motion, the drivers may actually be breaking the law using this feature.
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Laws banning "texting while driving" specifically ban you handling your phone. At least the ones I know of. That's why you can make a hands free phone call, but you can't hold your phone up to your ear and make a phone call.
This is nothing new. You can already share your route with someone from Maps. Or reply to text messages with a suggested quick reply or via voice. Or initiate a text via voice. Or change the song you're listening to. Or switch to a podcast. What AA does is make those things easy to do so it doesn't distract you while driving. It also limits what you can do so you can't sit there staring at your screen flicking through tracks while you blow through an intersection.
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I mean, the newer Apple Car play that is already out on say, Subaru, for example, already did this on the default mode, with music and notifications on one side and the map on the other, so I think that Android took the notes from Apple.
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This is how it's been in our 2022 BMW for over a year. I wonder if I'm on the beta or something... I don't even know how to check.
I suppose the notifications moving to the media player are different. Right now, they just pop up, distract me, and eventually disappear. That persistent distraction is new.
You know... I don't want everyone in the car to see who's texting me.
I suppose the notifications moving to the media player are different. Right now, they just pop up, distract me, and eventually disappear. That persistent distraction is new.
You know... I don't want everyone in the car to see who's texting me.
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You've has the multiple simultaneous panes for over a year?
They did announce the new layout last year, and it has been in the hands of testers for awhile, but I don't think it's been available for testers for that long.
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Android Auto has had widescreen support for over a year.
https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/widescreen-android-auto-2020-lexus-rx/
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Yeah, that isn't what this update is. You'll notice the left "launcher" area is completely different and the right "media player" area is more flexible allowing multiple panes and persistent notifications.
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Umm have you ever used CarPlay or Android Auto? They read the text to you, then ask you if you want to reply, and if so you just speak it. At no point does either message appear as text anywhere.
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Untrue. Android Auto debuted the split screen view for widescreen cars at Google I/O 2019, before Apple copied it and announced it later that same year.
This update brings a better version of that to every size and shape car display, alongside some of the new features described in the article.
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I'm struggling to see how you can say Android Auto uses the screen more efficiently when Carplay does split screen and has been for 3+ years before AA.
That's the one thing I always hated on years I was on Android -- the inability to have both the media player and the navigation app on the screen at the same time, something which my partner's iPhone could do with ease.
I can't wait to get this update and hopefully I can start to like AA rather than endure it.
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If Apple users have been using split screen for years and AA is only just getting it, then Apple clearly beat AA to that feature. People can't use the concept features or demo implementations shown off at a conference.
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There's only so much you can do to efficiently use screen real estate in a car, so this is not surprising. How would you place these UI elements differently in a way that isn't a downgrade?It’s pretty amusing how similar that widescreen layout looks to CarPlay.
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Yes. We got the car in November 2021 and Android Auto has always been that way. In fact, I tried to figure out how to turn the split screen feature OFF, so the map would fill the entire screen, but gave up.
Edit: I Googled it. It's been a feature for widescreen displays for almost two years; apparently the car manufacturers have to enable it. I can't believe y'all are still dealing with the ugly old interface I see in the Play Store.
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I recognise that, but a previous comment was noting they’d had widescreen functionality prior to now, which is true.
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I have a car with less than a year and with a very wide screen. I use android auto daily and have no split screen. I've read a lot about it and seems to be due to the car itself not being configured to "ask" for a split screen interface from Android auto. I've tried a lot of things and haven't been able to make it work.
This update seems to be a major revamp of android auto itself and will allow for split screen interface with more options but will also work with lots of different screen formats (especially vertical ones) as the article describes.
As someone who uses AA every day, I'm eager to have the newer interface as 99% of the time I use maps and podcasts only and the super wide map interface is useless while having more media controls on the side would help a lot.
I've also used carplay on a newer BMW from a friend and can confirm that carplay does this fine, at least on wide screens and android auto seems to be just catching up. I'm not sure about vertical screens though.
This update seems to be a major revamp of android auto itself and will allow for split screen interface with more options but will also work with lots of different screen formats (especially vertical ones) as the article describes.
As someone who uses AA every day, I'm eager to have the newer interface as 99% of the time I use maps and podcasts only and the super wide map interface is useless while having more media controls on the side would help a lot.
I've also used carplay on a newer BMW from a friend and can confirm that carplay does this fine, at least on wide screens and android auto seems to be just catching up. I'm not sure about vertical screens though.
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poisonborz
Smack-Fu Master, in training
Oh but you want the navigation app to be full screen? What, you don't need that fixed Spotify tile there? How weird, we will never support that!
I just can't understand that this is still an issue. I have both, and CarPlay is so much nicer on the car display it's incomparable. I was happy when my car brand introduced the AA full-screen update... and was appaled when I realised that when not split by the car OS, AA forces the screen split itself. I could understand if third party apps wouldn't support widescreen mode, but why can't at least Google Maps?
Waze's tachometer is almost unreadable, but I think Google will soon solve at least that by just shutting down Waze.
I just can't understand that this is still an issue. I have both, and CarPlay is so much nicer on the car display it's incomparable. I was happy when my car brand introduced the AA full-screen update... and was appaled when I realised that when not split by the car OS, AA forces the screen split itself. I could understand if third party apps wouldn't support widescreen mode, but why can't at least Google Maps?
Waze's tachometer is almost unreadable, but I think Google will soon solve at least that by just shutting down Waze.
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Can the apps be maximized to fill the screen? My 3 year-old Volvo has a modest-sized screen that's just big enough for Google Maps to be easily viewed when it uses all the screen real estate. If it's an inset and shares the available space with a launcher or another app then it will be too small and a significant DOWNGRADE.
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It’s crazy to me how much better Android Auto clearly is than current implementations of Android Automotive OS, like the example Ron looked at on a GMC the other day there. Even
Polestar’s version didn’t look so hot last time I saw it - anyone got one? Have they improved things?
Both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay seem great to me, it really feels like the obvious answer to “connected car infotainment” is a barebones OS just to control things AA and CP don’t hook into (like HVAC, for example, preferably with duplicate physical controls) and then support for both Android Auto and CarPlay so the driver’s phone can handle the rest.
I just wish I could run something like CarPlay on my iPhone’s screen so I could use it on my bike. I’ve compromised on a streamlined Focus with big buttons and a few glanceable widgets, but there are obvious limitations to that approach. I know Android Auto used to have such a feature too, so it’s a shame Google deprecated it. These interfaces should, if anything be more widely available.
Polestar’s version didn’t look so hot last time I saw it - anyone got one? Have they improved things?
Both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay seem great to me, it really feels like the obvious answer to “connected car infotainment” is a barebones OS just to control things AA and CP don’t hook into (like HVAC, for example, preferably with duplicate physical controls) and then support for both Android Auto and CarPlay so the driver’s phone can handle the rest.
I just wish I could run something like CarPlay on my iPhone’s screen so I could use it on my bike. I’ve compromised on a streamlined Focus with big buttons and a few glanceable widgets, but there are obvious limitations to that approach. I know Android Auto used to have such a feature too, so it’s a shame Google deprecated it. These interfaces should, if anything be more widely available.
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This is why the “A copied B” whining is so tedious - in almost every case, the functionality is similar because its designers are coming from the same common pool of experience trying to reconcile the same challenges. There have been a few genuine advances (the first iPhone reset everyone’s expectations) but the vast majority of the time this is about as insightful as noticing that every major cuisine has some pairing of salt and meat or carbs with fat.
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BevansDesign
Ars Scholae Palatinae
AA has been great for me, and I'm glad they're making it even better.
I just wish it let me look at images and watch videos (but only while parked, of course). I do a lot of road trips, and there have been many times when it would've been great to use my car's screen to look at my photos to make sure I got the shots I wanted, or just watch a video while I'm eating - or pass time while I'm camping and it's raining.
I just wish it let me look at images and watch videos (but only while parked, of course). I do a lot of road trips, and there have been many times when it would've been great to use my car's screen to look at my photos to make sure I got the shots I wanted, or just watch a video while I'm eating - or pass time while I'm camping and it's raining.
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They took 6 years to make a crap GUI slightly better, by making a no-brainer change to screen layout.
Why are we giving them credit, Ars?
And why oh why can we still not see the Waze progress bar during trajectory speed control? The Android app itself (on much smaller phones years ago) does it by default.
Why are we giving them credit, Ars?
And why oh why can we still not see the Waze progress bar during trajectory speed control? The Android app itself (on much smaller phones years ago) does it by default.
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I get the "obeying the letter of the law" angle, but from a realistic standpoint how does doing anything other than blocking 100% of all notifications avoid distractions? A notification is a distraction by definition.
In my opinion a car interface should only ever do what you tell it to (change the song, give me directions, ...). Any interaction initiated by the phone is a pure distraction. On top of that phone interaction which requires reading text is an interaction which takes the driver's eyes off the road for too long.
As a pedestrian I am constantly dodging cars blowing through red lights, intersection, and crosswalks. It is so much worse now than 20 yrars ago. I can see the drivers staring at their phones the entire time. It really does not seem to matter if the phone is in their hand or on their dashboard, the problem is they are looking at the phone instead of the road.
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How do you feel about navigation notifications? My car sounds a little chime when an exit is coming up.
You don't read texts. You don't mess with your phone. That's the entire point of AA. Your assistant reads your messages to you and you can reply by simply dictating your message to your assistant. It's as distracting as having a conversation with a passenger.
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