Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Coolwalk is a highly anticipated update, but not everybody seems to enjoy it. For some users, the redesign makes Android Auto impossible to use, as it breaks down the app bar at the bottom of the screen.
Google started the rollout of Coolwalk in early January, but the release progressed slowly, in some ways fueling the excitement for the update.
After a painful wait, some Android Auto users are now struggling with the app in their cars, as Coolwalk causes the lower part of the screen, including the app bar, to freeze.
The navigation bar is used to toggle between apps, and this is no longer possible after the bug is triggered. Users claim that interacting with the app currently on the screen, be it Google Maps or Spotify, works as expected, though switching to another one isn’t possible.
The bug made some people believe the screen experiences a hardware-level problem, but after a professional inspection, everything is in working condition. This can’t be the case, as using the lower part of the display outside of Android Auto triggers no input bug whatsoever.
The glitch happens with the latest versions of Android Auto, including 8.8 and 8.9. The rollout of Coolwalk isn’t tied to a specific Android Auto release, as the redesign is enabled by Google with a server-side switch.
The only workaround that restores the expected Android Auto behavior is unplugging the phone and plugging it back in to reinitiate the app. This only works temporarily, as the freezing occurs again at a later time.
Others claim that going back to an Android Auto version old enough to not support Coolwalk was their only option.
The freezing problem happens on both wired and wireless connections,
The reported bug is one of the reasons Google does not enable big new features at once for the entire user base. The company uses a rollout model based on phases, which means that users receive updates in stages. Once the collected data indicates a high reliability level, the rollout makes progress, with Google eventually being able to provide all devices with a bug-free experience.
When issues like this one are encountered, Google can suspend the rollout for specific hardware configurations. Owners of certain devices might have to wait longer to get Coolwalk, just before the same configuration has been flagged with an increased likelihood of issues.
At this point, it’s not yet known if Google is investigating the reports or not, and it’s hard to determine how widespread the freezing bug is given the redesign rollout is underway. Google plans to bring Coolwalk to all devices by the end of the year, so the remaining devices should receive the new interface in the coming months.
After a painful wait, some Android Auto users are now struggling with the app in their cars, as Coolwalk causes the lower part of the screen, including the app bar, to freeze.
The navigation bar is used to toggle between apps, and this is no longer possible after the bug is triggered. Users claim that interacting with the app currently on the screen, be it Google Maps or Spotify, works as expected, though switching to another one isn’t possible.
The bug made some people believe the screen experiences a hardware-level problem, but after a professional inspection, everything is in working condition. This can’t be the case, as using the lower part of the display outside of Android Auto triggers no input bug whatsoever.
The glitch happens with the latest versions of Android Auto, including 8.8 and 8.9. The rollout of Coolwalk isn’t tied to a specific Android Auto release, as the redesign is enabled by Google with a server-side switch.
The only workaround that restores the expected Android Auto behavior is unplugging the phone and plugging it back in to reinitiate the app. This only works temporarily, as the freezing occurs again at a later time.
Others claim that going back to an Android Auto version old enough to not support Coolwalk was their only option.
The freezing problem happens on both wired and wireless connections,
The reported bug is one of the reasons Google does not enable big new features at once for the entire user base. The company uses a rollout model based on phases, which means that users receive updates in stages. Once the collected data indicates a high reliability level, the rollout makes progress, with Google eventually being able to provide all devices with a bug-free experience.
When issues like this one are encountered, Google can suspend the rollout for specific hardware configurations. Owners of certain devices might have to wait longer to get Coolwalk, just before the same configuration has been flagged with an increased likelihood of issues.
At this point, it’s not yet known if Google is investigating the reports or not, and it’s hard to determine how widespread the freezing bug is given the redesign rollout is underway. Google plans to bring Coolwalk to all devices by the end of the year, so the remaining devices should receive the new interface in the coming months.
Google News