Here are the tricks I use to be less distracted while driving with Android Auto

Although designed for a driving-focused experience, using Android Auto (and CarPlay too) while driving is more misleading than texting while driving, a study has found. In any case, there are few precautions behind the wheel, which is why it is essential to take advantage of the options offered by Android Auto to minimize distractions and learn by using: This is how I set up Android Auto so it bothers me less when I’m driving.

Wireless or with specific site for mobile

Let’s start with a question that bothers me: for long journeys I prefer to connect the phone with a cable for a more stable experience and not eat up my phone’s battery, but in this case you always run the risk of being bothered by the cable, suspended by speed zone, control panel and handbrake. I solved it with a short, coiled cord and space under the dash just for my phone.

If possible, always control with your voice

Despite the clarity of the Android Auto interface, in the end the keys mean looking away and taking one hand off the wheel, which is why whenever possible I prefer to lean towards using voice commands.

However, the assistant that you will find is Google Assistant, which without being perfect offers quite a good experience in this scenario. It’s as simple as starting your sentence with “Ok Google” and continuing with commands like “ok Google, lama a Andrea” o”Ok Google, reproduce I would like again”so you’ll make a call and listen to a song without ever taking your eyes off the road.

Make sure you have enabled it from the “Settings” of the Android Auto console and by opening the Android Auto app, sliding the Google voice assistant specific toggle.

Keep notifications remote

Android Auto lets you see notifications from the apps it supports, but the recommended thing to minimize distractions is to choose carefully. which ones we leave active and which ones we don’t. Perhaps you are interested in not missing WhatsApp notifications but you can do without those of Telegram, for example.

To choose which notifications you keep and which ones you don’t gauge how much you use them and how often you receive them, then go to the Android Auto app on your phone and scroll down to the notifications section.

There you will see that you can choose view message and group message notifications (good idea, given the fun nature of the groups) or not, you can disable the sound of notifications and whether or not you want to display the first line of conversations. If you want to minimize discomfort, it would be ideal to turn everything off, but given its usefulness, I chose to turn off the sound only.

Faced with the bombardment of messages, silence

As I mentioned above, I have enabled notifications from some messaging apps, but if suddenly one of these groups (usually it’s more groups than a specific contact, which write everything in a few messages or stop writing to you if no response) no mute start a frantic conversation, whatsapp bombing can make me lose focus while driving.

So as soon as I see the screen appear several times, I click on mute the conversation instantly on screen. Messages will continue to arrive, but notifications will not appear.

Set Shortcuts and Shortcuts

This is one of the best tips to streamline the experience with Android Auto because it allows you to be more agile and have what you use most at your fingertips. To start, in the Android Auto app, you can customize launcher and add shortcuts.

One of the most useful modifications is to create a shortcut to call your loved ones, in my case I have buttons to call my partner and my parents. Enter Android Auto settings on your phone and tap “Customize app menu” and there select “Add shortcut to applications menu” and click on “call a contact“. You will only have to choose the contact so that it appears the next time you connect the mobile.

While there are many voice commands you can use with Google Assistant, you can also enhance your interaction by creating shortcuts to Assistant voice commands. We repeat the process until we reach “Add shortcut to applications menu” and press “Wizard action” All you have to do is write the command Assistant and choose a button. Finally press “Create direct access“.

Set your default streaming service

Above I commented on the usefulness of Google Assistant to interact with Android Auto and among the ideas of use I mentioned the possibility of playing a song, but who says a song says a podcast, an album or a playlist.

However, in my case, Spotify and Amazon Music are installed on my phone. Although at the moment I am a free user, in both cases I have tried the paid versions, so if you pay for one of these services or similar you will be interested set it as your default feed. You can do this from the Android Auto settings, access the specific section of Google Assistant and enter Music there.

Always with driving mode on your mobile

A quick clarification: for years Google offered Android Auto on both your car screen and your phone screen, but for the past few years it’s no longer present on your device. In its place appears Google Assistant driving mode on your phone for functions similar to Android Auto, although you can also open it by asking the Google Assistant. The key is that it has a minimalist and simplified interface so that everything is more visual and fast.

After the initial setup of Android Auto on your car and your phone, when you enter the vehicle, both must be connected via Bluetooth or wired, although there are cases where you may not want this, for example if someone wants your phone to play music. .. however, what you will find is the driving mode. Let him take it off if he wishes, because it will be an exception and he will not be driving. In any case, you can change riding mode settings opens in three situations: when your phone and car are connected, when you open the Android Auto app on your phone, and when your phone detects that you are driving.

Considering solely and exclusively avoiding distractions as your primary goal, my recommendation is for it to be case 3 or case 1 if you go wireless. The key is that if by chance you have to touch the phone (or you touch it, even though you shouldn’t), you end up with this simplified interface.

Set the riding mode fully and to your liking

And if there’s this situation of having to touch the phone, make sure that Google Assistant driving mode is set up correctly. To do this, just tell your phone “Ok Google, start driving mode” and when it’s open, enter the menu and settings.

There you will see two options: one to allow incoming calls while driving and to view messages with a user-friendly interface. I enabled both because I think your thing is to strike a balance between security and utility. If you click on “More settings”, you will see more options. I turned it on when browsing Google Maps so it automatically skips mode when I start a trip.

With driving mode you will see a navigation bar at the bottom with direct access to voice search and what is most interesting, an app drawer with shortcuts useful actions while driving such as calls, sending messages or compatible applications for listening to music.

At the bottom you will find the option “Add driving view shortcut to home screen”which in practice will allow you to have it at your fingertips simply by touching the icon.