Android Auto could give you a better look at your destination before you start your trip

Google has been steadily working on ways to make Android Auto more useful without sending drivers back to their phones. We recently discovered that Android Auto could gain its own Quick Settings tiles, while an earlier teardown revealed work on letting drivers dismiss or snooze phone alarms from the car display. Now, Google appears to be preparing another Android Auto upgrade, this time giving Google Maps a richer way to preview destinations before you start navigating.

Currently, searching for a place on Google Maps within Android Auto displays a compact card with basic destination details. Tapping the arrow beside the place name opens more information, including ratings, a phone number, parking, payment options, and accessibility details, depending on what is available in the listing.

Photos and Gemini-powered AI summaries, however, are currently available only on Google Maps on your phone. That could soon change.

We found the changes in Android Auto version 17.8, where Google appears to be redesigning the destination card to make room for both images and richer place information directly on the Android Auto display.

The UI itself is getting a notable rework. In the new design, the estimated travel time and distance move to a horizontal strip at the bottom of the card, as seen below. A drag handle sits just above it, letting you pull the panel upward to reveal more information, including alternative routes and stops.

Scroll further up, and the card can now surface photos of the destination, an Overview section, a Good to know section, and the phone number. The photo preview can open into a dedicated gallery, letting you browse images of the place without reaching for your phone.

The Overview is perhaps the more interesting addition. It can show a shortened version of a Gemini-powered AI summary for the destination, depending on the summary’s length. Tapping it opens a fuller Overview page with the complete summary, along with the place’s address and phone number.

The Good to know section can also surface useful details such as accessible entrances, parking information, or other listing-specific information.

Taken together, the changes could make Google Maps in Android Auto much better at helping you decide where you’re actually going before you tap Start. Instead of reaching for your phone to see photos or read an AI-generated overview, much of that context could live directly on the car screen. It would also allow co-passengers to access all this information without needing to access your phone.

Google hasn’t announced these changes. We had to enable them manually, so there’s no guarantee they’ll roll out as-is. The design could still change significantly before release, or Google could decide not to ship it at all.