Five things Android Auto can learn from CarPlay

Apple may have abandoned its long-rumored electric vehicle project, but it still has a huge influence in the auto industry. Most automakers mention CarPlay support in their commercials, and while Android Auto is still popular, companies are actively promoting compatibility with Apple hardware, even in cars that come with Android Automotive.

Apple released its in-car mode before Google and continues to lead Android Auto in some ways, but more recently Android Auto has grown into a strong competitor and is now on par with Apple CarPlay in most ways.

Android Auto has many tools it has over CarPlay, but there are some things Google could learn from Apple that you may not have realized were missing on Android. Here are some great things about Apple CarPlay that we wish Android Auto had:

1 Usability is everything when driving

Android Auto may offer a more capable UI, but when you’re actually driving, Apple’s implementation is superior. CarPlay is a simpler experience that knows why, when and where to use it, and more specifically, when not to use it. All designed to be intuitive and easy to use, so it doesn’t take away from your primary responsibility: driving safely.

Android Auto, to my eyes, is much more complicated and forces you to pay attention to the screen instead of the road. Perhaps the platform’s touch limitations force you to wait a few seconds before continuing. That, combined with small, hard-to-press buttons, makes simple actions like turning off voice prompts during navigation or opening a new media app difficult. Admittedly, you shouldn’t use the screen in either case, but neither Siri nor Google Assistant are powerful enough to warrant calling the display obsolete.

Android Auto offers users much more customization, which has many advantages, but also has its fair share of drawbacks. For example, on Samsung smartphones, Spotify may not appear in Android Auto unless you enable developer options. This happened to me on my Galaxy S24 Ultra, and the troubleshooting involved several minutes of waiting in a parked car. So, it’s easy to imagine how frustrating it would be for the average customer to not have the biggest music service appear in their car when using one of the most popular brands of smartphones.

2 Simplified UX and fewer distractions

One of the tasks I do often is toggling between different voice alert modes while navigating. Most of the time I know where I’m going, but sometimes I need to take a detour or go somewhere new. Voice alerts are annoying because they get in the way, but they can be useful on unfamiliar roads. When I arrive at or am on a familiar road, I might want to turn off the voice alerts, but that requires me to reach for an on-screen button to do so.

This may just be personal experience, but I find CarPlay more intuitive, faster, and less distracting than Android Auto. There are fewer distracting buttons, and the simple grid-like UI, scaled to support one, two, or three active items, feels calmer and less visually crowded. Android Auto has multiple buttons you can press, multiple windows with different scaling for different apps, and the option to press more buttons. Admittedly, Android Auto is Many It has more features than CarPlay, but that’s not what I want in a car: more buttons and widgets mean more time away from the screen.

Android on your phone, tablet, and in your car all follow a similar experience for consistency, while Apple designs its interface and experience with the use case in mind. CarPlay doesn’t have as many features as Android Auto, but since it’s in the car, it feels more effective while driving. Need to change settings? It’s pretty easy in CarPlay, but Android Auto is quite complicated, as is the entire Android settings menu.

Android Auto isn’t the only thing Google needs to focus on. The company announced this month that it will be introducing casting to the center screen of cars with the Android Automotive platform, starting with Rivian. This is designed for when the car is charging or for other screens in the car, but it’s more representative of Google’s approach: the center screen is just another screen, whereas with CarPlay, the center screen is the car’s screen. It would probably only take a few days to retrofit a screen to allow casting while driving, but it raises the possibility of unintended consequences from a seemingly well-thought-out feature.

Google needs to recognise that displays running Android in the car are different from displays running Android outside the car, and build truly meaningful experiences designed for the car.

3 Quick screenshots for troubleshooting etc.

Google’s entire OS for cars, Android Automotive, and next-generation CarPlay, are designed to allow Google or Apple to build a platform to power cars. Effectively, they are the entire OS, but right now Android Auto or CarPlay runs on the car manufacturer’s own UX.

While some automakers have backed away from the idea, it remains the end goal for both companies and is likely inevitable. If this happens, it will create a sizable learning curve for many average users, and Android Auto will need to make sure there’s an easy way to figure out what’s going on.

We’re used to taking screenshots on our phones to show a problem. How do we do this in the car? Apple CarPlay makes it easy using the same keyboard button combinations you use on your phone. Screenshots in Android Auto require going through various settings on the phone, so can’t be done while driving. Google should just take a leaf out of Apple’s book here. No need to reinvent the wheel.

Four More extensive support for wireless Android Auto

It took car manufacturers years to introduce support for Android Auto compared to Apple CarPlay, which faced some resistance from automakers, while Android Auto’s early days saw a lot of uncertainty and a lack of support in many popular car models.

Things have improved, but there are still areas where Android Auto support feels like an afterthought, one of which is wireless Android Auto support, which still remains missing in many cars, even newer makes and models.

The longer it takes for native wireless Android Auto support to become the norm, the longer it will take for it to become widespread. For now, older cars that don’t support Android Auto will likely remain in use for years to come. Admittedly, third-party wireless adapters are available for both platforms, so this isn’t a problem, but it’s still worth considering if you’re buying an older car.

Five Better Device Integration

One of the biggest benefits of Apple controlling the hardware and software is that things work much smoother, and since Google doesn’t get that advantage with Android Auto and would have to support a variety of hardware profiles, it needs to take a lesson from Apple’s strategy.

While you’ll get a similar experience when switching between phones from different manufacturers, each phone manufacturer implements Android Auto differently. Similarly, Apple CarPlay will work with almost any USB-C or Lightning cable, but Android Auto requires special attention to the cable you use. While the on-screen experience is similar, there are still nuances that come into play depending on your ease of use.

Also, the cable frequently disconnects when moving. For example, when going over a speed bump, the phone frequently disconnects from Android Auto (wireless or otherwise) and sometimes never connects. I have yet to have an iPhone that didn’t work with Apple CarPlay, but I have several Android phones from various manufacturers that have never worked with Android Auto reliably for no reason. Based on complaints on Reddit, it seems I’m not the only one.

Despite Apple’s many shortcomings, in my experience, CarPlay has achieved overall reliability for both automakers and the majority of customers. There will always be issues and nuances, but Android Auto still has a lot of room for improvement.

The future of roads will be AI-powered — and promises to be safer

It’s unclear where Google and Apple plan to take AI in cars, but we’ll likely hear more after Apple unveils its new platform at WWDC next month.

Google held its Google I/O developer conference earlier this month, and while it was all about Gemini AI, it brought a few tweaks to Android Auto, including native support for the Uber app (making it easier for drivers to access from the center screen) and the aforementioned casting feature for Android Automotive. It also introduced new car app quality levels to help developers rate their car support based on each level.

It’s unclear what else Google has planned for Android Auto, but I hope they heed the advice above. Many of Android Auto’s new and current features are designed for passengers in the car, but they get in the way of its primary user: the driver. Android Auto needs to reduce distractions so drivers can focus on the road. That way, it will be as good as Apple CarPlay, and in many ways better.

Nirave is the founder and evangelist of House of Tech, a company that deals in the best health and technology products. Since suffering a heart attack at the age of 33, he has been focusing on the impact technology can have on making our lives longer, more productive and happier. To learn more about the latest updates on his journey, follow him on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Read his newsletter on the impact of technology at impact.hot.tech.