It seems like yesterday but Android Auto has been with us for ten yearssince it was announced at Google I/O in 2014 following Google’s participation in the Open Automotive Alliance.
It has rained a lot since then, even if as the versions of Android Auto follow one another and do not always have new features, we tend to think that it has hardly changed. We prove the opposite with this compilation, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Android Auto, of the ten biggest changes in its history.
Android Auto Wireless
We start chronologically with the first new feature of Android Auto that will surprise more than one. wireless modewithout cables. Although it remains almost more the exception than the rule today, Google presented it in 2018, when it required a Google Pixel 2 and a car that supported it (which did not exist at the time).
Successive updates to Android Auto and Android have reduced the requirements for wireless Android Auto. Today, you can connect to Android Auto wirelessly with any mobile with a recent version of Androideven though you still need your car to support it and that’s not always the case.
App drawer and multitasking
A year later he arrived Android Auto’s first major overhaul and one of its most important updates. This is when the “classic” style of Android Auto arrives with the lower navigation bar that integrates the music player and that allows, for the first time, multitasking (changing songs during a journey).
Dark mode has also been added in this update and an app drawer in the classic style, to be able to launch any compatible application. This redesign also brought the new notification panel, which remains largely the same today.
From a separate app to a pre-installed app
In the same year, Android Auto received a technical modification: Android Auto is now part of Android instead of being a separate app that you have to download from Google Play.
This has been the case since Android 10, and it’s the reason Android Auto appeared in the app drawer on older phones and not on newer ones. Along the way, it’s gotten a bit more complicated. access settingswhich are usually somewhat hidden among the mobile settings.
Third-party applications
Some of the first third-party apps to arrive on Android Auto
At first, Android Auto only supported a handful of its own apps, and it wasn’t until 2020 that Google opened the ban for other developers may release compatible apps with Android Auto.
Google continues to control many things what types of apps can be used on android autobeing mainly navigation, multimedia and messaging, although later it opened the door to other categories such as charging stations, home automation or meetings (like Zoom).
Split screen
Coolwalk Front Android Auto Split Screen
Before Coolwalk, Google was already experimenting split screen in Android Auto as an intermediate step. It arrived in 2021 and was very similar to the one we would later find in Coolwalk, although designed for widescreen displays.
Android Auto’s split screen allowed us use two applications at the same time, usually Google Maps and music app. It wasn’t as “lively” as in Coolwalk but the functionality was very similar.
The end of the phone version
Many will remember with sadness the moment when Android Auto is no longer available on our phonesThe final farewell took place in 2022, although it was a chronicle of a death foretold that lasted for years.
Android Auto for phones had been abandoned for years, but it still was an alternative for those who did not have a screen in the car. After the shutdown, Google tried to convince us to use Google Assistant’s Driving Mode, but it’s just not the same.
The Coolwalk Redesign
Over time, Android Auto’s design began to feel closed and Google’s solution was its second most radical overhaul under the code name Coolwalk. It took a while to reach everyone, but by 2023 it was already quite widespread.
Coolwalk has rejuvenated Android Auto with animations, a redesigned navigation bara universal split-screen mode and support for all types of screen formats.
WhatsApp Calls
Android Auto has always allowed us to make calls, but traditional calls. These days, many people prefer to make whatsapp calls Well, if you have an unlimited data plan they’re free, but that was only possible on Android Auto last year.
Making WhatsApp calls on Android Auto has now become possible, and receive them too. That same year, Android Auto also learned to play audios sent to us on WhatsApp.
mobile wallpaper
Android Auto bids farewell to 2023 with an interesting new customization feature: the power use the same wallpaper as on mobile. This is, today, the only way to have a custom wallpaper in Android Auto.
So far Android Auto I had a handful of wallpapers to choose fromwithout giving us the option to use our own. Now we can, although it must also be our background on our mobile.
The first application of time
Android Auto apps must be built according to some very limited models for communication, navigation, and other driving-related applications. It is precisely this last model that has allowed the arrival of a new type of application: the weather.
The first weather app for Android Auto, which allows us to see the map in real time while driving, arrived last year and was called Weather and Radar. Since then, a few others have arrived.
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