AutoNew Android Auto free update starts rolling out – prepares your car for a big feature pushLong-awaited changes are coming to Android AutoWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
AutoNew Android Auto free update starts rolling out – prepares your car for a big feature pushLong-awaited changes are coming to Android AutoWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Long-awaited changes are coming to Android Auto
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future / Chris Hall)
(Image credit: Future / Chris Hall)
Quick summaryThe latest version of Android Auto contains code to support local car media.There’s no current feature support, but it looks like it paves the way for deeper support for a car’s built-in radio and media capabilities.
The latest version of Android Auto contains code to support local car media.There’s no current feature support, but it looks like it paves the way for deeper support for a car’s built-in radio and media capabilities.
The latest version of Android Auto contains code to support local car media.There’s no current feature support, but it looks like it paves the way for deeper support for a car’s built-in radio and media capabilities.
The latest version of Android Auto contains code to support local car media.
There’s no current feature support, but it looks like it paves the way for deeper support for a car’s built-in radio and media capabilities.
According to thelatest stats from Google, Android Auto is available in over 200 million cars. While that pales in comparison to the 3 billion active Android users, it’s still an important element for many drivers. Indeed, a recent survey (via iMore) revealed that 30%of buyers would consider no Android Auto orAppleCarPlay to be a deal breaker.
Currently, when using Android Auto, any audio that you play is streamed via your device. That means you need to have a data tariff and connection to listen to music, for example. But, your car already has a tuner in it that powers its own radio, and this is whatGoogleis looking to tap into.
This would mean that from within the Android Auto interface you could control your car’s radio, using the FM tuner for example, and removing the need for streaming via your phone. There’s also been reference to local media, for example stored on a USB connected to the car. The big change for users would be that you wouldn’t need to return to the car’s interface to change the radio.
This could be especially useful for cars that don’t offer radio controls via the driver display or steering wheel buttons, which some do.
The bad news is that there’s no indicator when this might happen and what is means for your car. It could be that manufacturers need to support the new function in some way, or that it only works with particular types of local car media.
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However, there’s clearly a lot of work happening behind the scenes to make this a possibility.
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TOPICSAndroid Auto
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