The big problem with touchscreens in cars is the danger they can pose while driving. They are a distraction that can cause us to take our eyes off the road, even for a moment, endangering occupants, pedestrians, and other drivers. Luckily, Android Auto is so popular because it allows you to not use the touchscreen if you don’t want to.
Android Auto has full integration with Google AssistantGoogle’s voice assistant that allows us to simply speak to perform an action; in this way, it is not necessary to press the touch screen for basic functions, thus taking advantage of the potential of the assistant (even if it is behind Gemini).
The problem that several Android Auto users are already experiencing is therefore worrying. The symptoms are the same in all cases: Google Assistant is not able to understand who we want to call; so we have no choice but to try another method like using the touch screen or using an app like WhatsApp.
The problem, already reported in Google forums and on Reddit, occurs when you say “Hey Google” or click the button to activate voice commands and ask it to call a person. Normally, the assistant should recognize the command and start call from Android Auto to contact that we have stored on our mobile phone, without having to press the car’s touch screen.
However, users now realize that when they order a call, the assistant does not recognize the person’s nameeven if it is saved in contacts. The assistant often asks the user to repeat the name, without making the call we requested. Although the “bug” mainly affects calls, there have also been cases where it does not recognize the name if we want to dictate a message.
Recall that Android Auto 12.5 was released this week worldwide; and version 12.4 was released less than a month ago. This demonstrates the high pace of updates that Google follows, but it also means that it is more likely that we will find “bugs” like this one. It is possible that this problem was introduced in one of these two versions, but it is more likely to be a server-side issue with Google Assistant; if so, users can only wait for Google to release an update that fixes these issues.
