As part of the Android Show: I/O Edition 2026, Google has announced that Android Auto is also getting a pretty major rework. This mostly centres around the UI getting the Material 3 Expressive design, which is more an Android phone thing. Which means that, to start, you’ll be getting some smartphone UI conveniences on Android Auto as well.
Smaller items on this list include custom wallpapers and fonts, just like on an Android phone. But one of the key additions in this way is widgets. This would eat into your screen space when, say, navigating on Google Maps. But if you can work with that being displayed in a smaller screen area, then you get more info of your choosing at a glance. Obvious choices here are things like Spotify, or the media player of your choice. But you can also put a contact there if you’re expecting frequent voice messages. The internet search giant says that this will support even non-standard displays on supported cars.
Speaking of navigating, potentially the biggest improvement comes in the form of Immersive Navigation. This technically comes as an update to the Google Maps app in general rather than something that’s specific to Android Auto, But either way, this makes it so that rather than just showing you a 2D plane, you get a simple 3D view. This not only shows you buildings, and terrain, but much more importantly, overpasses. This would be especially helpful when, for example, you’re navigating a place like the area around KL Eco City.
Google says that the 3D rendition “is made possible with the help from Gemini models, which analyse fresh, real world imagery from Street View and aerial photos to give you an accurate view of things along your route, like landmarks and medians. Which is great, but the bad news is that, as usual, this rolls out in the US first, with availability expanding “over the coming months”. But when it does, it will be available on Android and iOS, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, as well as cars with Google built-in.
For when you’re not driving, Google says it is upgrading Android Auto to allow for “full HD” video playback at 60 fps. When you start driving again, these will “seamlessly transition to audio-only in apps that support background audio”. Which will work very well with podcasts, but probably not anything else.
These features that are not Immersive Navigation will also be coming to Android Auto and cars with Google built-in throughout the year. No specifics on when or where specifically, unfortunately.
(Source: Google [1], [2])
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