Google updates Android Auto with a new interface, 3D navigation and Gemini
Google announced a major software update for Android Auto and cars with Google services integrated. Later this year, compatible models will receive the new Material 3 design, more detailed Google Maps navigation, Full HD video while parked and a more capable Gemini AI assistant.
Android Auto gets a new look
The next version of Android Auto brings Google’s Material 3 Expressive design language into the car, with new fonts, smoother animations, wallpapers and customisable widgets. The system should also adapt more neatly to screens of different shapes, including ultrawide displays and less conventional instrument panels.
The bigger change sits inside Google Maps. Google will add Immersive Navigation to Android Auto, showing buildings, flyovers and terrain in 3D while making lanes, traffic lights and stop signs easier to read. This is not just a cosmetic tidy up. The idea is to give drivers a clearer view when road layouts become busy, layered and faintly hostile.
Video comes to the car, but only when stationary
Android Auto will support video on the car’s screen for the first time. Google promises Full HD video at up to 60 frames per second in compatible cars, but only when the vehicle is parked or charging. The feature will arrive first in selected models from brands including BMW, Ford, Genesis, Hyundai, Kia, Mahindra, Mercedes Benz, Renault, Škoda, Tata and Volvo.
Once the driver sets off, video will not keep playing on screen. In supported apps, the system automatically switches it to audio only. Google will also add Dolby Atmos spatial audio support in selected apps and cars.
Gemini moves deeper into the dashboard
Google will expand Gemini’s role in Android Auto. The AI assistant should be able to draw on the context of messages, emails and calendar entries, for example suggesting a ready made reply when someone asks the driver for an address. Google also gives the example of placing a food order by voice while driving, with the driver confirming it with a single tap.
The larger shift concerns cars with Google services built in. In those models, Google will connect Gemini more closely to the vehicle’s own hardware. That means the assistant could answer questions about the specific car, such as explaining a warning light on the dashboard or judging whether an item of a certain size will fit in the boot.
Google strengthens its place in the cabin
Google says more than 250 million Android Auto compatible vehicles are on the road, while Google services built into the car are available in more than 100 models from 16 car brands. So this update is not only about mirroring a smartphone on a dashboard screen. It is part of a wider contest over who controls the digital experience inside the car.
For car makers, Google offers a familiar and convenient software layer. It also brings a deeper reliance on Google’s ecosystem, which is the sort of trade off that tends to look neat in a presentation and more complicated in the long run. For drivers, the clearest gains are better navigation, more flexible media use and smarter voice control.
Strategically, the message is plain enough. The car dashboard is starting to follow the same software logic as the smartphone, only now with traffic lights, charging stops and rather more expensive consequences.
