Android Auto
NOW EVERYBODY WITH AN ANDROID PHONE CAN CONNECT IT TO THEIR RIDE AND ENJOY AN IN-CAR-COMPUTER EXPERIENCE
Android Auto used to only be an option for a limited range of cars, but thanks to Google’s latest update you can now connect your phone to any car and give yourself an on-board computer.
Depending on your make of car, Android Auto connects in different ways. If you have a compatible display built in, then Android Auto will use that, but most likely you won’t – connect over Bluetooth to your head unit and it uses your smartphone’s display instead. This requires some sort of holder in your car so you can access your phone.
Android Auto has modified all the apps to give them extra-large buttons, so you can use it easily while driving. Google Maps is the app we tended to use most, and that works flawlessly, but you can also use the music player for audiobooks, get it to read messages out loud and take calls.
You’ll need an Android phone running version 5.0 or higher (that’s Lollipop, Marshmallow or Nougat in Android-speak) to run Android Auto. It’s not perfect by any means – we had issues connecting when not using Bluetooth, and we couldn’t browse our entire music library. But as with all Google products, you can expect it to be perpetually in beta, which means oddly named updates will keep raining down.