Android Auto Gets a Long-Overdue Update to Make Driving Safer

New improvements and refinements land regularly, allowing Google to polish the experience with Android Auto on multiple fronts.

The latest such quiet update concerns how users receive message notifications while driving.

If you've been using Android Auto for more than a few hours, you probably know that its main purpose is to allow users to interact with their apps without making driving dangerous. It reduces driving distractions by using voice commands, so you can rely on Google Assistant to listen to music, send messages, make phone calls, and configure navigation.

Eventually, Android Auto also allows you to stay in touch with your contacts and receive notifications while driving, leaving Google Assistant in charge of reading and responding to your messages.

The Mountain View-based search giant has been letting Android Auto users hide message notifications when the app runs on the infotainment screen, albeit they still show up in the notification center. A recent update gives users the power to completely disable message notifications on Android Auto, keeping the driving experience safer and making everything quieter in the cabin.

Android Auto version 11.8 enables a new option (though the availability improves gradually with a server-side rollout) to disable notifications with Google Assistant, essentially allowing users to block all message notifications for good. Google explains in the feature description that notifications would no longer be submitted to Google "for features like playing your messages out loud." Furthermore, the search giant adds that "notifications are never saved," so they are blocked completely.

The option to disable message notifications was introduced nearly two years ago, but this new setting rolling out gradually completes the package, allowing users to focus on the road while driving.

Google did not release an announcement about the new feature, but considering it's now rolling out in stages, the company could discuss it in the coming weeks when everybody gets it.

Google has already teased some Android Auto announcements at I/O, its developer event taking place in mid-May, and this new setting could be part of the news.

Meanwhile, Android Auto keeps getting further polishing, and this strategy is part of Google's commitment to improving the in-car experience.

The battle in the automotive space is getting fiercer between tech companies, especially as Apple is catching up and delivering long-overdue updates to Apple Maps. The latest big iOS version included support for offline maps in Apple Maps, allowing users to navigate without an Internet connection. The next major release due in the fall will include support for custom routes a la Google Maps, so users will be able to configure routes on their PCs and send them to the car via an Apple ID.

The Android Auto vs. CarPlay battle is also becoming more intense.

Apple will soon unveil the new-generation CarPlay, which will debut in Aston Martin and Porsche cars in 2024. The company offered a teaser of the new experience in 2022 and promised to release the first vehicle announcements by the end of 2023. While two carmakers confirmed the adoption of CarPlay 2.0, the information remains very scarce, as Apple reportedly works with carmakers directly to integrate the new experience.

The new CarPlay version will only be available in new cars and will continue to be powered by an iPhone. Apple considered turning CarPlay into an operating system competing against Android Automotive, but the company eventually acknowledged that retaining the current approach, which relies on an iPhone to power the experience, was the better option. Users are already familiar with how CarPlay works, and not upgrading the system to a stand-alone operating system keeps an iPhone an essential part of the entire experience.

Google is also trying to improve the consistency between Android and Android Auto. Earlier this year, the search giant announced new features to let Android icons and wallpapers sync with Android Auto. With these settings, Android Auto users get a new look in the car, including the stock icons on their mobile phones and the wallpapers on the home screen. The feature currently supports Samsung devices exclusively, though I've also seen evidence that the company has started enabling it for other Android OEMs, including Xiaomi.

Android Automotive is also getting new capabilities via Google Maps, allowing the navigation app to search for nearby stations automatically when the battery level drops below a certain threshold. Google Maps can suggest charging stops in proximity, helping address range anxiety and preventing vehicles from running out of battery. Google also relies more on AI integration, and in addition to message summaries, already available on Android Auto, the company will use artificial intelligence to generate additional directions for drivers looking for a specific charging station. The information will be extracted from user reviews on Google.