Man, I’m glad Android Auto exists, I’m glad it’s finally appearing in more new cars with wireless connectivity (although MANY new cars still only have wireless carplay and wired Android), and I’m glad we’re finally getting the ability to open Google Maps on our phones while it’s also open on the car’s display.
But damn it still does some dumb shit.
I’ll just drop this one for now: I find it weird and dumb that Google Maps in Android Auto will let you send a progress share to a contact’s email address but not to their phone number as a text message with a link.
An email address might send a notification to somebody’s Google Maps app, but it’s certainly never happened on my partner’s iPhone. She just gets a link via email, and she is not the checking email sort — so I usually follow up with a text message telling her to check her email. 😑 (I wish she’d just get a Samsung…)
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My major complaint is that Android Auto is a proprietary standard that doesn’t have an official open source implementation.
Just Google trying to do more vendor lock-in along with Apple.
I’m not too surprised by this, tbh. Cars are a lethal object, and even though you can get all manner of aftermarket infotainment systems, that doesn’t mean Google would want to have any culpability in a crash that occurred using a system running in an open-source system of its own making. You know how the legal system can be when apportioning blame…
I’m still upset that phone-standalone android auto was discontinued.
I’m glad we’re finally getting the ability to open Google Maps on our phones while it’s also open on the car’s display.
Wait, this is possible now?
Well actually, they haven’t officially said. This article might’ve just stumbled upon a bug. One of the commenters suggests he could do it for a while, but not after a dot update.
The biggest issue I’ve had is random disconnects. Sometimes it’ll come back after a minute or so. Sometimes unplugging and plugging back in works. And other times I have to completely turn off my CX-5.
I’ve tried new cables and even a factory reset but nothing has prevented it from popping up about once a week. Not sure if it’s the car’s fault or Android Auto but boy is it annoying
This sums up my exact experience with Android Auto.
The moment Google or the car manufacturer or whoever is responsible fixes this Android Auto will become perfect for my use.
Yeah I don’t even bother using it with a cable, it’s a shit experience. If the car I’m in doesn’t have wireless AA, I just take a cradle and use my phone display as my infotainment display.
Wireless AA is a bit crap in some cars, great in others. Often gets taken out or interrupted by overhead e-tag gantries too, but I find it reconnects/resumes quickly enough.
Try and source yourself the shortest USB-C cable that you can get whilst still reaching your phone holder.
My biggest complaint is that light mode and dark mode can’t be tied to the phone. My head unit doesn’t get the right signal for automatic to work and it’s annoying to change in the settings.
Ah that sucks. I admit I’ve never noticed as I use dark mode permanently!
I’ve been using android auto with a 2017 Mazda cx-5 for like 4 years now, at first on a Samsung galaxy S8, and now on a pixel 5. It’s useful, and don’t get me wrong, waaaaaaaaaaaay better then what’s built into the car. But holy fucking christ is it a buggy sack of shit. Here’s a short selection of bugs i’ve had with this setup over the years:
- The entire UI just randomly freezing for a solid minute
- Sound not working for music, and the whole thing just straight-up crashing when trying to play something.
- Music absolutely refusing to play (to the point I have to reboot my fucking phone).
- Voice commands not working period.
- Not carrying over route planning from my phone to the car when plugging in.
And a bunch of other shit that I either can’t be assed to write about or don’t remember right now. PLUS, whenever anything breaks you never know if it’s the car, the phone, or the connection. Sometimes just unpluging it works, sometimes I have to reboot the phone, and once in a while I’ve had to turn my fucking car off and back on…
Honestly the overwhelming emotions that are associated with android auto for me are “annoyance” and “again?”. This is unfortunate as it is a really cool idea and a neat piece of tech. Maybe one day it won’t be a flaming pile of garbage and actually pleasant to use.
It seems like a lot of people have issues with the implementation in the cx-5. I suspect they have run too much cable between the deck and the USB port: a common cause of issues.
As the years have rolled on, Android Auto has improved in leaps and bounds. Newer decks and vehicles don’t seem to suffer such issues. I use a Kenwood DMX820WS and a brand new phone and I don’t get any of those issues at all.
My early experiences were much like yours.
I really wish I’d waited another year to buy a deck with a wireless implementation.
Yep. As a motoring journalist myself, I get to use wireless AA in a lot of new cars and it’s mostly fine now (if not perfect).
Makes my phone overheat and drain battery when using wireless AA, which is all my car supports. When I’m in a rental and use wired AA: no problems.
Why did Google go out of their way to kill standalone Android Auto? There is nothing even remotely similar/non crap compared to it.
The official line is that Android Auto for Phone Screens was a stopgap until Assistant Driving Mode was ready, but then they say they noticed most people were just running their phones with Google Maps open, which of course also has media player integration. Given the low user numbers of both previous versions, they shuttered it rather than continue to invest in it.
Yet it worked for years before Assistant existed. It used to work offline. Google had to work to take it away from us.
