Google Announces New Android Auto Features, Possibly Exclusive to Samsung

Android Auto will soon import the mobile device's stock icon design and wallpaper, creating more consistency and making the switch from the phone to the car more seamless.

Previous Android Auto builds included evidence that Google wanted to unlock customer wallpapers in the car with a unique twist. Android Auto has been offering support for wallpapers for several years, but the application limited users to a bunch of backgrounds pre-loaded by Google.

Users have been asking for third-party wallpapers, as they wanted to use their backgrounds stored on their phones. While Google doesn't unlock this option, it will allow users to configure Android Auto to import the background on the mobile device. The car and the smartphone will use the same wallpaper when the feature is enabled.

The second update concerns the icon design. Android Auto will import the stock icon design from the mobile device, replacing the default icon pack in the car. With the phone wallpaper, Android Auto will look more like an extension to the mobile device.

However, there's one mysterious tidbit that Google didn't elaborate on. The company says the new features will be available on Samsung Galaxy phones, so it's unclear if it plans to keep them exclusive to Samsung users or if it wants to bring them to everybody else.

Samsung is the world's number one phone maker, so a significant share of the Android Auto user base includes its mobile devices. However, Google Pixel and Xiaomi phones also account for a substantial part of the community, so it'll be interesting to see if and how Google expands this feature's availability.

It also doesn't look like the icon support includes third-party sets. Android Auto can only import the default icon design on the Samsung phone, and if the user installed a custom icon set, it'd still use the stock pack. The icons will also be replaced in the dock, creating more consistency across the entire Android Auto interface.

The new features were spotted a few weeks ago, but Google says the production rollout will start "soon." No specifics were shared, but considering the Samsung Galaxy S24 is now official, it's probably a matter of weeks until Google enables the wallpaper support and the phone icons in Android Auto. Based on Google's previous Android Auto announcements, I wouldn't hold my breath for the production launch, as the company has a history of pushing back significant releases without further announcements.

Installing the latest Android Auto version (currently 11.1 in the stable channel) doesn't enable the new features but is still recommended to provide you with the latest bug fixes and refinements and get your device ready for the upcoming goodies when they're ready.