Although 2024 has been somewhat difficult for Android Auto due to the large number of “bugs” and issues related to its accelerated development, it seems that Google has some good news to close out the year and start 2025 well. We recently talked about Google It has finally solved one of the big problems with Android Auto, and that's not the only gift it was preparing.
Google also recently released Android Auto 13.4, a new version that adopts the Material You style and colors for menus; and now it has made a small change that many drivers have been asking for for years: the Android Auto compatibility with weather apps. In fact, we will finally be able to install our favorite application to predict the weather, and the best thing is that they will not have many limitations.
It should be remembered that Android Auto is a very controlled platform, and that not all applications are compatible; In some cases this is simply an adaptation to the car's touchscreen, but in others, Google just doesn't allow it. The company has a compatibility program that only allows certain types of applications and only in certain situations, in the name of road safety.
For example, some video applications are already compatible with Android Auto, but only with the car stationary. to avoid distractions on the road. Google manages several categories of applications for Android Auto, such as navigation, Internet of Things, video games, browsers or instant messaging, and maintains certain restrictions on each of them and on each application separately.
Now, Mishaal Rahman has discovered that Google has added a new category of applications for Android Auto: “Weather”i.e. meteorology apps. This means that Android Auto will finally allow the installation of weather applications that can be used on the car's touchscreen. This will be possible both in cars equipped with Android Automotive and by connecting the mobile phone to the touch screen via Android Auto; In both cases, the implementation is still in beta, so it is not accessible to most users.
Of course, Android Auto already has an official weather forecast feature and is compatible with some weather apps that can be installed through Google Play. However, these apps were specifically approved by Google because they were considered safe; By adding a specific category for weather apps, Google opens the doors of the platform to more developers.
Therefore, with this change, drivers will be able to choose their preferred weather app to use in Android Auto, instead of depending on the options officially chosen by Google. This also allows more possibilities, such as weather apps that update in real time and which show the weather situation at any time based on our location and configuration; For example, so that the application warns us that we are approaching an area where it is raining or where it is very windy.
