Android Auto has reconciled millions of motorists with their car’s touchscreen by offering a more intuitive alternative to the infotainment systems developed by automakers, and it’s about to get even better. Google announced a series of comprehensive updates that make the five-year old software more user-friendly than before.
Google redesigned the Android Auto interface with darker graphics that are easier on the eyes, and that blend in better with the interior of most modern cars. It added color-coded accents to help drivers process information with just a quick glance, and made the fonts easier to read. The end result looks a lot like Apple CarPlay, but that’s not a bad thing.
The software now displays available apps on a dedicated interface that users can scroll through vertically. The app launcher gets rid of the buttons previously integrated into a bar on the bottom of the screen, and it makes Android Auto more smartphone-like to use. The bar below the screen remains, but it adopts a more streamlined look. It lets users go to the main menu, access their notifications, and launch the voice assistant.
If music is playing, the bar displays the buttons used to skip tracks. If Google Maps is running, the bar shows navigation directions. This function fixes one of the bigger issues we’ve found with Android Auto by making it possible for motorists to keep an eye on navigation directions even if they’re scrolling through their playlist, or vice versa. Ultimately, this part of the update helps make driving safer by reducing the number of screen taps needed to access information.
The update also adds a notification center that shows recent calls, messages, and alerts on the same screen. Finally, Google claimed it optimized Android Auto for the wider screens that are increasingly found in new cars. When Android Auto launched, a 7.0-inch screen was considered massive. Fast forward to 2019, and it’s not uncommon to find screens that match or exceed the size of an iPad Pro. Tesla, Volvo, Hyundai, Ford, and Ram have all enlisted in the screen size war.
Google will release its updated Android Auto software during the summer of 2019; it hasn’t provided a more specific time frame yet. The update will come to every car currently compatible with Android Auto, and to some models that haven’t been announced or released yet. The list of automakers that offer Android Auto continues to grow. Toyota resisted the software for years, but it’s finally beginning to offer it in some of its models, including the 2020 Tacoma. And, Porsche told Digital Trends that it’s open to the idea of letting Google into its dashboards in the not-too-distant future.
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via https://AIupNow.com
Ronan Glon, BruceDayne
