Photo: Subaru
The adoption of Android Auto and CarPlay is obviously on the rise, and carmakers out there know this very well. As a result, more and more cars come fitted with support for the two, and earlier this week, Subaru shared pretty big news for future Outback customers.
The 2023 version of the car would be fitted with wireless Android Auto and CarPlay as standard, so the two apps would be available regardless of the ordered configuration.
The new Outback will sport an 11.6-inch display, and given the large screen estate, running Google Maps or Waze on Android Auto and CarPlay should be a pretty cool thing.
However, there’s one big problem when it comes to Android Auto.
While CarPlay already takes advantage of the full screen estate of the display in the new Outbacks, Android Auto is still struggling with the portrait orientation in the latest-generation Subarus.
Android Auto is only displayed on the center of the screen, as it fails to expand to the entire display, as full support for the Subaru 11.6-inch system is not available.
The support for portrait modes in Subaru cars has long been one of the most requested features in the Android Auto world, with a discussion thread on Google’s forums calling for both companies to make it happen.
But while a Google community expert says it all comes down to Subaru to offer such capabilities, the carmaker itself is said to blame the search giant for its limited Android Auto support.
“I have reached out to Subaru, they blame Google. Google blames Subaru,” a Subaru customer says. “I asked the local Subaru dealer about it and he said it was Google's problem,” someone else said, while another Android Auto user added that “I have also contacted Subaru about this they placed the blame on Google.”
At this point, it’s not yet clear if the 2023 Outback comes with any improvements on this front, but in the official press release, Subaru promises “standard wireless CarPlay and Android Auto with full screen display.” Fingers crossed for this tidbit to mean a portrait mode is coming.
The new Outback will sport an 11.6-inch display, and given the large screen estate, running Google Maps or Waze on Android Auto and CarPlay should be a pretty cool thing.
However, there’s one big problem when it comes to Android Auto.
While CarPlay already takes advantage of the full screen estate of the display in the new Outbacks, Android Auto is still struggling with the portrait orientation in the latest-generation Subarus.
Android Auto is only displayed on the center of the screen, as it fails to expand to the entire display, as full support for the Subaru 11.6-inch system is not available.
The support for portrait modes in Subaru cars has long been one of the most requested features in the Android Auto world, with a discussion thread on Google’s forums calling for both companies to make it happen.
But while a Google community expert says it all comes down to Subaru to offer such capabilities, the carmaker itself is said to blame the search giant for its limited Android Auto support.
“I have reached out to Subaru, they blame Google. Google blames Subaru,” a Subaru customer says. “I asked the local Subaru dealer about it and he said it was Google's problem,” someone else said, while another Android Auto user added that “I have also contacted Subaru about this they placed the blame on Google.”
At this point, it’s not yet clear if the 2023 Outback comes with any improvements on this front, but in the official press release, Subaru promises “standard wireless CarPlay and Android Auto with full screen display.” Fingers crossed for this tidbit to mean a portrait mode is coming.
Google News