In theory, using Android Auto is supposed to be as straightforward as it gets. The app only requires you to connect an Android phone to a compatible head unit, and boom, you should then see the car-optimized experience launching automatically.
But as many Android Auto users have learned the hard way, the whole thing can sometimes become a huge struggle because of various reasons like bad updates, low-quality cables, or even head unit software issues.
On the other hand, there are moments when not even getting a high-end Android smartphone helps improve the Android Auto experience, and the best example in this regard is Samsung’s Galaxy S21.
Essentially one of the best Android devices currently on the market, the Galaxy S21 debuted back in January with a plethora of improvements, running Android 11 out of the box and supporting Android Auto—both wireless and wired.
Shortly after the device's launch, however, owners started complaining of all kinds of issues with Android Auto, including connectivity problems that prevented them from running the app in their cars.
And most recently, someone has posted a video on Google’s forums to show just how painful using Android Auto can sometimes become, even with a high-end device like Samsung’s Galaxy S21.
While the app actually starts and runs in this case, the problem seems to be its performance, as the lag makes everything pretty much unusable. It’s hard to figure out the cause, as neither Samsung nor Google shipped any updates to improve the performance of Android Auto on the S21.
Many people would be tempted to blame the head unit itself for the whole thing, but the user who posted the video says all the other phones work just fine, with no Android Auto performance issues whatsoever.
So right now, it’s pretty impossible to tell exactly how this behavior can be fixed and allow Android Auto to run properly with a Galaxy S21, but given neither Google nor Samsung offered a solution, users are still alone in their struggle to fix everything.
On the other hand, there are moments when not even getting a high-end Android smartphone helps improve the Android Auto experience, and the best example in this regard is Samsung’s Galaxy S21.
Essentially one of the best Android devices currently on the market, the Galaxy S21 debuted back in January with a plethora of improvements, running Android 11 out of the box and supporting Android Auto—both wireless and wired.
Shortly after the device's launch, however, owners started complaining of all kinds of issues with Android Auto, including connectivity problems that prevented them from running the app in their cars.
And most recently, someone has posted a video on Google’s forums to show just how painful using Android Auto can sometimes become, even with a high-end device like Samsung’s Galaxy S21.
While the app actually starts and runs in this case, the problem seems to be its performance, as the lag makes everything pretty much unusable. It’s hard to figure out the cause, as neither Samsung nor Google shipped any updates to improve the performance of Android Auto on the S21.
Many people would be tempted to blame the head unit itself for the whole thing, but the user who posted the video says all the other phones work just fine, with no Android Auto performance issues whatsoever.
So right now, it’s pretty impossible to tell exactly how this behavior can be fixed and allow Android Auto to run properly with a Galaxy S21, but given neither Google nor Samsung offered a solution, users are still alone in their struggle to fix everything.