As a daily Android Auto user, these are the 5 features I still want after the big 2026 update

Significant updates are coming to Android Auto this year, and some features have already appeared on the dashboards of a few lucky users. Google’s new offerings include immersive 3D navigation in Google Maps, video playback support for YouTube users, and home screen widget support, with more features in the pipeline.

It’s a substantial list of new additions, but as consumers are never quite satisfied, there’s always room for further improvement.

Beyond the many welcome features arriving in 2026, here are a few improvements that Android Auto desperately needs, could benefit from, or would make a pleasant addition to the driving experience.

Gemini via Android Auto sucks – here’s how Google can fix it

I’m generally fond of Gemini’s sparkly presence, especially when it corrects my error-laden spreadsheets or polishes my rambling emails to fellow adults. It’s a different story entirely when it comes to the in-car voice-prompting experience.

Android Auto’s iteration of Gemini is horrible. Not only is it overly chirpy, but it also takes much more time to complete tasks than its simpler, older predecessor. Altering navigation instructions, querying road conditions ahead, requesting the weather conditions, or playing specific playlists from Spotify should be child’s play for the next-generation assistant — but there’s always a delay between my command and its execution.

When it’s not chatting my ear off, it’s out of breath, and the Gemini Live experience isn’t much better.

Gemini might be unpolished at present, but it’s fixable. Given how well it runs on Android and Wear OS, the in-car experience could be greatly improved with just a few simple additions. These include:

• Gemini response settings specifically for Android Auto: At the very least, I’d like toggles to adjust Gemini’s response verbosity, the tone I’d prefer it use, and the circumstances in which it should ask follow-up questions while driving.
• Gemini Profiles for Android Auto: Take the settings above. Now imagine them placed within specific profiles. These would allow drivers to set up specific response setting combinations for specific driving situations. For example, a “work” profile could make Gemini more direct for morning commutes. A “weekend” profile could be more informative and conversational. A “kids” profile would be perfect for keeping little ones entertained on long drives. These profiles could be activated and deactivated via a voice command.
• Saved Info for Android Auto: I love using Saved Info to change my text-based Gemini responses on the web or in the app, but it often affects how it responds to voice queries in the car. A dedicated Saved Info page for Android Auto would allow for even more customization of responses and keep other info siloed to its intended platforms.
• A “Stop” word: I really need Gemini to just stop when it rambles on in traffic. A stop word, or anti-wake word, would be a welcome kill switch to instantly halt its response. “No, Google,” anyone?

There are plenty of additional improvements to Gemini I’d love to see, including an overall boost to processing and response speed and a more reliable hit rate for obvious, regular commands like “Yes” and “No.”

Some of the suggested features below also include Gemini to some degree.

Please bring voice messaging to Android Auto

It’s 2026, but somehow I still can’t send a voice message to my contacts through Android Auto.

Although my car and phone both have microphones, Android Auto forcibly, and often incorrectly, transcribes messages into text instead of simply sending the audio. We can place calls, so why can’t we send recorded voice snippets via WhatsApp or RCS?

I’d welcome Android Auto offering me the choice between text and voice messaging for contacts (this preference could be set via a settings toggle), with voice messaging ensuring information is relayed more accurately to recipients. I can’t tell you how often Gemini includes parts of the command in transcribed messages, how often it spells out “full stop” and “comma,” or how often it completely butchers the names of recipients or locations.

While Google is working on a voice messaging feature, at least according to Gemini itself, it’s unclear when the feature will actually arrive. It’s certainly a feature I’d like the company to prioritize over widgets and other flashy visual updates.

No more contact ambiguity and confusion

As I mentioned above, Gemini misunderstands what I’m trying to relay in a message. More annoyingly, it’s often confused by who I’d like to contact. This is especially problematic for names and countries that are not spelled as they’re seemingly pronounced.

The Contacts app has a fix just waiting to be better integrated. Setting Phonetic First Names and Phonetic Last Names, in addition to Nicknames within the app, is possible, and I’d certainly suggest that you fill these fields. However, Android Auto seems to disregard this information whenever I ask it to reach a contact.

The fix, which could benefit millions of people, is to have Gemini check these specific contact fields first while driving. This would also stop Gemini from seeking nicknames as if they were first-name contacts.

Give me more boring visual toggles!

Google Maps’ new immersive navigation gimmick is impressive, but does it genuinely improve the overall navigation experience? Not quite. What certainly would is the ability to tweak various Maps interface elements to my liking. Google’s been focused on updating Android Auto’s design language and aesthetics, but there are more practical items it could hand off to users.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous opinion piece, Android Auto is a driving tool, and driving tools should allow the driver to customize them to best suit their needs. It’s why a steering wheel has rake adjustments, why seats can be lowered or raised, and why mirrors can be reangled. A comfortable driver is a safer driver.

This focus on accommodation and accessibility should be present in Android Auto, too. Here are some concepts:

• Additional themes or visual styles for Google Maps: Mapping apps like OsmAnd allow users to enable various map elements, change colors, and adjust typefaces. Google Maps could certainly do with similar legibility and information toggles to improve accessibility.
• Options to reposition and resize boxes, toggles, buttons, and other elements: Imagine a suite of settings that lets you increase the skip button, thicken the seek bar, enlarge the navigation details box, and much more.
• Options to revert to previous layouts and UI styles: Not everyone wants Google to revise and shuffle UI elements with every update. This option would allow users to reduce disruption by preferring legacy layouts and interface experiences.

A broader power saver mode for Android Auto

Android Auto is a battery hog, and my phone often switches into power-saving mode while I’m connected to it.

At present, when my phone reaches this battery breaking point, Android Auto continues to function without abandon. To save device power, I’d like to see Android Auto automatically switch to a low-battery mode when my phone does and subsequently trigger additional power-rationing features.

The mode could automatically restrict my phone’s network to 3G or 4G, disable transparency and other demanding visual effects, limit the mapping feature to show directions only, and restrict access to a handful of Android Auto-compatible apps. Essentially, such a mode would turn my phone into an Android Auto modem and little else.

This might not be necessary for wired Android Auto, but as a wireless user, it would allow me to eke out a little more juice between trips.

It’s worth noting that such a setting does appear in some cars, including BMW and Nissan vehicles, but it’s not as widespread or feature-rich as it could be.

These are just some of my pie-in-the-sky Android Auto features I’d like to see alongside 2026’s updates. I understand that some of these features may be too obscure to warrant development attention, but they’d certainly improve the overall driving experience immeasurably.

Android Auto is as feature-rich as it’s ever been, but there’s still room for the platform to grow. Do you have any nifty ideas that would make Android Auto more user-friendly? Is there a bugbear you’d like Google to address? Let me know in the comments below.