Photo: Google
Google has just started the rollout of a new Android Auto update, but unfortunately, the most anticipated change is still nowhere to be seen.
First and foremost, let’s talk numbers.
Android Auto 7.9, which was released as a beta earlier this month, is now live for non-testers as well. The rollout of version 7.9.6229 is now taking place through the Google Play Store, but as usual, the whole thing happens in stages, so not everybody is getting it on day one.
As a result, if you don’t want to wait and would rather install Android Auto 7.9 manually, the APK installer is available on this page. Just download version 7.9 and then install it on your Android device by tapping the APK file.
As far as the included changes are concerned, you’ll probably be disappointed to learn that the Coolwalk update is still missing. Google promised to release this massive overhaul in the summer, so now there’s hope that Android Auto 8.0, which is projected to see daylight next month, would be the one to finally bring Coolwalk to everybody out there.
There are two smaller changes in Android Auto 7.9, however.
The first one concerns the background when listening to music, regardless of the app. Beginning with version 7.9, Android Auto is expanding the blurred background to the entire width of the screen, making the UI overall look and feel a little bit more modern.
The second one is aimed at the progress bar you see when listening to a song. In the previous versions, Android Auto used a circle bar around the play button, but starting with version 7.9, the app displays a seeking bar similar to the one you typically find on the desktop.
However, users can’t interact with the seeking bar, so, for instance, you can’t tap it to jump to a specific point of a song you’re listening to. Most likely, Google will include this functionality in a future update.
Android Auto 7.9, which was released as a beta earlier this month, is now live for non-testers as well. The rollout of version 7.9.6229 is now taking place through the Google Play Store, but as usual, the whole thing happens in stages, so not everybody is getting it on day one.
As a result, if you don’t want to wait and would rather install Android Auto 7.9 manually, the APK installer is available on this page. Just download version 7.9 and then install it on your Android device by tapping the APK file.
As far as the included changes are concerned, you’ll probably be disappointed to learn that the Coolwalk update is still missing. Google promised to release this massive overhaul in the summer, so now there’s hope that Android Auto 8.0, which is projected to see daylight next month, would be the one to finally bring Coolwalk to everybody out there.
There are two smaller changes in Android Auto 7.9, however.
The first one concerns the background when listening to music, regardless of the app. Beginning with version 7.9, Android Auto is expanding the blurred background to the entire width of the screen, making the UI overall look and feel a little bit more modern.
The second one is aimed at the progress bar you see when listening to a song. In the previous versions, Android Auto used a circle bar around the play button, but starting with version 7.9, the app displays a seeking bar similar to the one you typically find on the desktop.
However, users can’t interact with the seeking bar, so, for instance, you can’t tap it to jump to a specific point of a song you’re listening to. Most likely, Google will include this functionality in a future update.
Google News