Android Auto: full user guide and review ~ station of gear

Skoda Superb long-term test - Android Auto

Google's Android Auto software connects your smartphone with your car opening up a world of possibilities

2016-07-26 14:00

Android Auto is a type of connection between your car’s infotainment system and certain smartphones running Google's Android operating system. You hook up the phone to the car using a USB cable and then your vehicle’s infotainment screen can present a range of phone-based applications - everything from Google’s own navigation software to music streaming services like Spotify. Android Auto is the Android alternative to Apple's CarPlay in-car connectivity system and performs a similar range of functions.

How is it different from just using my phone?

Because the system has been conceived with car users in mind, it’s generally easier to use Android Auto on the move than it is a smartphone that’s been mounted on the dashboard in a cradle. The relatively few buttons are large enough to be prodded by a finger when you’re on the move, and Google’s speech recognition software means you can control most of the Android Auto services by voice commands anyway.

Image 3 of 8

Skoda Superb long-term test - android auto on

Image 3 of 8

How much does Android Auto cost?

For the basic connection, nothing; it’s a free download from the Google Play store. But you need to remember that Android Auto is a data-heavy service; pretty much everything it does relies on some form of data connection, so it can be affected by dropouts in signal and will eat into the data allowance on your mobile phone contract.

• Best sat-nav apps 2016

In addition, while there are several excellent free apps that support Android Auto, you may find that some other services, including music streaming, are better if you pay for a subscription.

Which manufacturers support Android Auto?

To date, Android Auto is built into selected systems from Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Bentley, Citroen, DS, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, SEAT, Skoda, SsangYong, Subaru, Suzuki, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Volvo. This looks like a comprehensive list but it’s worth remembering that Android Auto is likely to be optional or offered on only a handful of vehicles from lots of those manufacturers. You’ll need to study the standard equipment list and the options section of the brochure pretty carefully to make sure you can get hooked up.

Android Auto is primarily designed for manufacturers’ built-in infotainment systems, but aftermarket head units from Pioneer and Kenwood support the technology.

Image 4 of 8

Image 4 of 8

Android Auto - how to connect

Connecting your phone to Android Auto is a similar process to hooking up through Bluetooth. Firstly, you should do it with the car stationary and in an area of phone coverage; the Android Auto app blocks configuration if you’re moving, and it needs to connect to Google to finalise the set-up.

That aside, it’s pretty easy. You load up the Android Auto app on your phone (a free download from the Google Play Store); then, with it running, you plug in the phone via USB, and go to your car’s Android Auto screen. It’ll offer you the chance to connect a new device - again, similar to how Bluetooth set-up works - and when you select your smartphone, you’ll need to approve the ‘handshake’ in the Android Auto app on your device’s screen.

If this sounds complex, don’t worry; it’s something you should only have to do once, because the connection can happen automatically thereafter.

If your device is running Android Auto but you get a blank screen on your car’s infotainment system, it may need a software upgrade or not be compatible at all. Android Auto needs at least Android version 5.0 (‘Lollipop’) to run.

Image 7 of 8

Android Auto - best apps

There’s an ever-increasing range of approved apps for Android Auto - and some of the early offerings already work particularly well.

Easily the most impressive is Google Maps, which brings detailed navigation and real-time traffic information to your car. The display is quick to respond, it constantly looks for quicker route options and best of all, you can just click a microphone button and say, ‘Navigate to any given destination’ and it’ll take you there. The recognition can be fooled by background tyre roar if you’re travelling along a particularly noisy stretch of road - but that aside, it’s uncannily accurate.

• Best in-car entertainment systems reviewed

Because the system uses Google’s own data, it’s great at understanding commercial destinations instead of just streets and postcodes. And being Google, it also has access to your recent browsing and search history - so it’s possible to look for a future destination at your office desk or home laptop, jump into the car, hook up your phone and find it suggested as a possible route to you without even asking for it.

The real-time traffic information is based on Google’s other navigation users, so it’s considerably more reliable than manufacturers’ radio- and camera-based data. A two-hour route is usually accurate to within a couple of minutes, whereas a less connected nav system my predict as little as 45 minutes for the same journey.

The other main service of Android Auto is music streaming - including offerings by the three main subscription-based services: Google Play Music, Amazon Music and Spotify. We’ve tried Spotify with a premium account and it’s reasonably slick, showing album art and using Google’s cloud-based speech recognition to allow you to demand any track from the archive - regardless of whether it’s in your collection or not.

One negative point is that Google has been quite restrictive on the amount of ‘browsing’ you’re able to do - presumably for safety reasons. So even though your Spotify library may have 100 albums or artists, you’re only ever able to scroll through eight or 10 of them before you get a pop-up telling you to stop the car before you continue to browse. Apple’s CarPlay system - which offers many of Android Auto’s features on iOS devices - isn’t so strict.

Other apps are being launched on an almost weekly basis. WhatsApp and Skype are already compatible, allowing you to potentially use those services to make VOIP calls instead of Android Auto’s conventional smartphone system. And there are already at least a dozen eBooks and Podcast apps on offer - although you may need to use trial and error to find one with the right mix of content and a user-friendly interface.

Bizarrely, that phone access is one of Android Auto’s weaker points. It’s basically sound, and it will read out texts and Google Hangouts messages to you and allow you to dictate replies - but it’s not much more comprehensive than a decent car-smartphone interface. At least the fact that it’s contained within Android Auto’s on-screen environment means that you don’t have to hop back out to the car’s own system to make a phone call; you do have to do this to switch radio stations or media if you’re not listening to music through an Android Auto streaming app.

Do you have Android Auto in your car? tell us what you think of it in the comments section below...

John McIlroy

Thank you for reading the article about Android Auto: full user guide and review in blog station of gear If this article was helpful please bookmark this page in your web browser by pressing Ctrl + D on your keyboard keys.