Photo: Subaru
Mountain View-based search giant Google says it’s not the one to blame for Android Auto's lacking support for vertical screens in some vehicles, as the company does provide the necessary tech for carmakers to make it happen.
In other words, Android Auto already supports displays using portrait orientation, and in case the app isn’t using the available screen estate in your car, then it’s the automaker the one you should reach to.
Android Auto users have been asking for portrait mode for a long time, especially as more new cars, such as the 2022 Subaru Outback, use large vertical displays with support for Google’s app.
But on the other hand, the lack of optimizations has turned Android Auto on such displays into a huge mess, pretty much because it runs only in one part of the display without using the entire screen estate.
In the 2022 Outback, for example, the head unit only displays Android Auto in the upper part of the screen, whereas the lower side shows nothing but black waste space. Needless to say, Apple’s CarPlay knows how to take advantage of a display with such orientation. Thus, it’s not hard to understand why Android Auto users have been asking for a similar update from Google.
In a response to all the recent feedback, a member of the Android Auto team clearly explains that Google already “provides the technology for carmakers” to properly display the app on portrait displays. So if something isn’t working right, they are the ones you should reach to, Google says.
Oddly enough, Subaru claims otherwise.
One of the users who posted to Google’s forums asking for such an update claims they reached out to Subaru, and the carmaker pointed the finger at the search giant. Subaru said Google was indeed working on supporting the portrait orientation, but the company did not have an ETA as to when an update would be released to its cars.
Android Auto users have been asking for portrait mode for a long time, especially as more new cars, such as the 2022 Subaru Outback, use large vertical displays with support for Google’s app.
But on the other hand, the lack of optimizations has turned Android Auto on such displays into a huge mess, pretty much because it runs only in one part of the display without using the entire screen estate.
In the 2022 Outback, for example, the head unit only displays Android Auto in the upper part of the screen, whereas the lower side shows nothing but black waste space. Needless to say, Apple’s CarPlay knows how to take advantage of a display with such orientation. Thus, it’s not hard to understand why Android Auto users have been asking for a similar update from Google.
In a response to all the recent feedback, a member of the Android Auto team clearly explains that Google already “provides the technology for carmakers” to properly display the app on portrait displays. So if something isn’t working right, they are the ones you should reach to, Google says.
Oddly enough, Subaru claims otherwise.
One of the users who posted to Google’s forums asking for such an update claims they reached out to Subaru, and the carmaker pointed the finger at the search giant. Subaru said Google was indeed working on supporting the portrait orientation, but the company did not have an ETA as to when an update would be released to its cars.
Google News