Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Google keeps working on refining the experience with Android Auto, and despite remaining completely tight-lipped on its current focus, the company regularly ships new updates to both beta and production channels.
This week, the Mountain View-based search giant released the very first build of the 9.8 branch. A beta build is now available for testers, giving them enough time to try out everything before the stable version starts rolling out to users.
As per Google's typical approach, Android Auto 9.8 comes without a changelog, but this isn't necessarily a surprise. This is something that Google has been doing for quite some time, and while it's extremely frustrating because users have no idea what new updates are supposed to do, installing the latest versions is still recommended.
Back in January, Google kicked off the rollout of Coolwalk, one of the biggest overhauls in Android Auto's history. Thanks to the new UI, users can run multiple apps side-by-side on the same screen regardless of the display size.
Coolwalk divides the interface into multiple cards, and each card is assigned to an app category. Navigation apps and audio players, which are typically considered must-have tools for the modern driver, have their own place on the Coolwalk screen.
Since January, Google has been working non-stop on addressing bugs in Coolwalk. One such issue causes the lower part of the screen to freeze shortly after launch. Users claim that tapping the on-screen buttons and switching to another app is impossible, as the entire touch input is blocked on half of the Coolwalk interface.
As such, most of the latest Android Auto updates have been aimed at polishing the Coolwalk experience, though without a changelog, it's still impossible to tell if any major bugs have been squashed already. It's also unclear if Android Auto 9.8 resolves any important problems, such as the screen freezing error on Coolwalk.
The beta build is only aimed at testers and power users who understand the risks of running pre-release software. Beta updates typically come with an increased likelihood of bugs, as Google ships these builds specifically to receive feedback from its testers on what to polish before the production release starts. As a result, you shouldn’t install an Android Auto beta build on your daily driver, as you might eventually come across bugs that make it impossible to use the app.
If you still want to give it a try, downloading the APK file manually is the only option unless you're part of the beta program. To do this, head over to this page and download Android Auto 9.8 on your device. After that, browse to the location of the file on the smartphone and tap the installer – just make sure you give it the right permission during the update.
As per Google's typical approach, Android Auto 9.8 comes without a changelog, but this isn't necessarily a surprise. This is something that Google has been doing for quite some time, and while it's extremely frustrating because users have no idea what new updates are supposed to do, installing the latest versions is still recommended.
Back in January, Google kicked off the rollout of Coolwalk, one of the biggest overhauls in Android Auto's history. Thanks to the new UI, users can run multiple apps side-by-side on the same screen regardless of the display size.
Coolwalk divides the interface into multiple cards, and each card is assigned to an app category. Navigation apps and audio players, which are typically considered must-have tools for the modern driver, have their own place on the Coolwalk screen.
Since January, Google has been working non-stop on addressing bugs in Coolwalk. One such issue causes the lower part of the screen to freeze shortly after launch. Users claim that tapping the on-screen buttons and switching to another app is impossible, as the entire touch input is blocked on half of the Coolwalk interface.
As such, most of the latest Android Auto updates have been aimed at polishing the Coolwalk experience, though without a changelog, it's still impossible to tell if any major bugs have been squashed already. It's also unclear if Android Auto 9.8 resolves any important problems, such as the screen freezing error on Coolwalk.
The beta build is only aimed at testers and power users who understand the risks of running pre-release software. Beta updates typically come with an increased likelihood of bugs, as Google ships these builds specifically to receive feedback from its testers on what to polish before the production release starts. As a result, you shouldn’t install an Android Auto beta build on your daily driver, as you might eventually come across bugs that make it impossible to use the app.
If you still want to give it a try, downloading the APK file manually is the only option unless you're part of the beta program. To do this, head over to this page and download Android Auto 9.8 on your device. After that, browse to the location of the file on the smartphone and tap the installer – just make sure you give it the right permission during the update.
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