Big News for Android Auto as the First Full Weather App Is Now Available for Download

Back in 2019 when Google launched the redesign that most people are using today, the company removed this widget and introduced a simplified approach, with the weather data moved to the status bar at the top of the screen.

Now that Coolwalk is rolling out, this is being updated once again, with the weather information getting its own home in a dedicated card on portrait screens. For some reason, the landscape mode is not supported for now.

Everything is changing with the debut of Weather & Radar (also referred to by many as WeatherRadar). This is the first full weather application for Android Auto, as it can provide live information while you drive, along with the current conditions and temperatures around you.

Once launched, WeatherRadar determines and keeps track of your location, displaying the temperature right on the map. You can also see the same information for nearby locations, while zooming out lets you access the weather conditions for the entire region, just like in any other traditional weather app.

The app uses color-coded weather information – if you see regions painted in blue, this means you could come across rain if you’re driving in this direction. It’s not necessarily the genuine radar experience that you get on a mobile device, but it’s a great way to know the weather conditions in advance as you drive toward your destination.

A split-screen mode is also supported if your display has a wide resolution, but otherwise, the app needs to run in full-screen mode. Coolwalk doesn’t come with a dedicated card for this type of application, and nobody knows if such changes are planned in the long term.

The team working on WeatherRadar reveals big new features are already on their way, including local weather alerts and real-time conditions for your route.

The dev team says CarPlay support is already in the works, but a specific ETA can't be disclosed right now. Basic weather apps have been around in the CarPlay world for quite some time, with Weather on the Way, for example, offering a live precipitation radar optimized for the configured navigation route.

WeatherRadar is not the first weather app that runs on Android Auto, as Weatherology has been sporting basic functionality thanks to Google Assistant for several years already. However, it is the first one to offer nearly the full weather package, letting users see the current temperature and conditions on a live map while they drive. Hopefully, it won't take long before the teased features go live, especially as live weather alerts are sometimes critical during long drives.