Key Takeaways
- The Android Auto app has just been updated to version 13.0, with no major features in sight.
- However, new strings within the app show that work towards local media support, which is now referred to as Car Media, carries on.
- Android Auto is also working on allowing users to control the car’s AM/FM radio via the app, though there’s no timeline available for either of these feature additions.
Android Auto is a handy utility that converts your car’s dashboard into a fully equipped Android screen, requiring only a compatible Android device. A leak in July revealed how a future update to the Android Auto app could let you control the car’s AM/FM and HD Radio, while we’ve since learned that the app is also working on enabling local media support. Google has just started rolling out version 13.0 of Android Auto on the Play Store, and while there are no major feature additions that you will find, a teardown of the app by 9to5Google has revealed some interesting details.
The publication has uncovered strings within Android Auto v13.0 that show how Google continues to build on the local media feature spotted back in September. Interestingly, Google is calling it Car Media now, while strings previously found within the app called it Car Local Media. Here are the newly surfaced strings:
<string name=”car_local_media_service_label”>Car Media</string>
<string name=”car_local_media_media_source_unavailable_error”>%1$s is not available.</string>
<string name=”car_local_media_missing_song_name”>Unknown</string>
<string name=”car_local_media_sources_root”>Car Media Sources</string>
As you can see, the code mentions some common error messages that users may find while using Car Media, while one string mentions “sources” for local media. While we don’t know what this will look like, 9to5Google has dug up icons for the car radio and local media features from an older version of the Android Auto app.
When are these features coming?
Icons for Local Media (Car Media) and AM/FM Radio support in Android Auto (via 9to5Google)
Since we’ve learned of these additions mainly through code within the Android Auto app and not directly from Google, it’s hard to come up with a timeline for their arrival. But since Google already has icons ready for car radio and local media, it shouldn’t be too long before they’re rolled out to the Android Auto app. A big version upgrade —such as this v13.0 update of Android Auto — would have been an ideal time to roll out these changes, but Google begs to differ.
Among the other highly anticipated features in Android Auto is support for Gemini Live, as revealed by a leak last month. However, we still don’t know how the experience will be tailored to the car’s infotainment screen and if this feature will be available to all Android Auto users or limited to only those with a Gemini Advanced subscription.
