These Are the Biggest Android Auto Updates Due in 2023

And in so many ways, this wouldn’t be a wrong assumption, as Android Auto is an application that requires plenty of polishing and further refinements to work exactly as users expect it to work.

And it doesn’t necessarily come down to new features. Many long-time users found out the hard way that in some cases, the smallest change in Android Auto could wreak havoc, eventually breaking down features and turning the entire experience into one huge mess.

While Google is working non-stop on fixing all of these, it’s also not a secret that the search giant is also trying to refresh Android Auto in such a way that it would better align with modern expectations today.

And the whole thing essentially comes down to two major improvements that are due in 2023.

First and foremost, it’s the almighty Coolwalk treatment. We’ve known for a while that Google has been working on a redesign of Android Auto, but the company has already missed the original target date for releasing the update.

Announced at I/O in 2022, Coolwalk was originally planned for the summer of the last year. However, the company needed more time to prepare it for prime time, and as a result, the first beta users received it later the same year.

Now Coolwalk is projected to start rolling out at some point next year, but Google hasn’t provided any specific information on this front. We do know that Coolwalk is due in 2023, but on the other hand, this can mean anything, so you’d better not hold your breath for this update.

But why is Coolwalk such a highly anticipated release?

It all comes down to the interface that it brings to Android Auto. Just like the CarPlay dashboard, Coolwalk allows users to run multiple apps side by side on the same screen. Each app comes in its very own card, so everything on the display is neatly organized. The navigation app receives the largest card, as it needs to show more information than all the other applications.

Obviously, this is an approach that’s very similar to the CarPlay dashboard, but on the other hand, Google has tried to make Coolwalk feel more original with dynamic cards and support for all kinds of resolutions, including screens that sport a portrait aspect ratio. At this point, however, Coolwalk still isn’t prepared for the launch, not only because the redesign itself needs further polishing but also because the most popular apps out there don’t support it just yet.

For example, Google Maps is currently the only navigation app that can run in the dedicated card on Coolwalk. Waze has already teased a similar update, but for the time being, it’s pretty clear that developers need more time to prepare their apps for the Android Auto redesign.

And the second big update is the support for more app categories.

This is something that Google has been working on for several years already, and every major update brought support for new categories of apps. It goes without saying that this is something that just has to happen, as it’s the only way to keep the experience behind the wheel always feeling fresh and modern.

It’s too early to tell what Google is working on in this regard, but we should expect additional news on this front at the company’s developer event in just a few months.

Expanding the app category support is something that both Apple and Google are very focused on. For example, last year the Cupertino-based tech giant allowed developers to bring fuel-paying apps to CarPlay, essentially expanding the capabilities of its platform as well.

At the end of the day, it’s very clear that Android Auto needs to upgrade its experience on the most important fronts, especially as the competition in this market is getting fiercer. 2023 is also the year when Apple will introduce the new-generation CarPlay, and while this is going to be limited to new vehicles that come equipped with the app from the factory, there’s no doubt that it’ll more or less make Android Auto feel a little bit outdated.

However, it’s important for users out there to always understand what the new CarPlay is all about. In many ways, the upgraded CarPlay experience is a rival to Android Automotive, whereas the current version that is available for drivers is more of an alternative to Android Auto.

Once the Coolwalk redesign goes live, Android Auto and CarPlay would become even more similar, as both will allow multiple apps to run side by side regardless of the screen size, resolution, and aspect ratio, something that would certainly come in handy to drivers out there.