Cut up-screen is now two months late and counting
We have been ready for Google’s deliberate Android Auto redesign to hit automobiles in every single place for practically a complete yr. After a untimely leak unveiled a split-screen UI final fall, we’ve watched as a work-in-progress challenge changed into an official announcement at I/O this spring. And but, as Labor Day weekend quickly approaches — a marker for the finish of summer season and, extra importantly, the finish of the summer season journey season — it is nowhere to be seen. Now, a brand new update to Android Auto is rolling out, and regardless of what you may count on, it is sure to convey disappointment to drivers in every single place.
On paper, Android Auto 8.0 feels like the excellent alternative to ship this yr’s promised redesign — codenamed “Coolwalk.” It is a spherical quantity, in spite of everything. Prefer it or not, we’ve all been accustomed to anticipating greater modifications when the model jumps as much as a spherical quantity — it is why we count on a lot extra from Android 13 over Android 12.1. So whereas Google is solely following up Android Auto v7.9 with the subsequent quantity in line, it is easy to see why some customers would count on consequential modifications from this launch.
Sadly, that does not appear to be the case. As noticed by the of us at 9to5Google, Android Auto 8.0 is rolling out to drivers in every single place proper now, without any signal of “Coolwalk” or different design modifications. As an alternative, it appears doubtless this model is yet one more spherical of bug fixes following a notably unstable yr for the platform. Though a new media participant appeared in July, it is the solely visible change we’ve seen hit screens this yr.
When Google introduced its redesigned UI in Could, the firm claimed it might arrive in automobiles earlier than the begin of summer season, presumably timed to everybody dashing off on highway journeys. Though “Coolwalk” remains to be MIA, it is fully attainable it rolls out to drivers by a server-side update, enabled by Google as soon as it is lastly prepared. Not less than proper now, although, this newest improve merely is not the one we’ve been ready for all summer season lengthy.
It is one other chapter in the ever-messy saga that’s Android in automobiles. Along with delayed updates and clean shows, Google lastly killed Android Auto on cellphone screens for good. It left drivers to rely solely on Assistant Driving Mode, an inferior service in practically each means and one which continues to overlook out on some much-needed options. As Apple continues to develop its next-gen CarPlay platform, Google completely must step up its recreation on this competitors. In any case, iOS has supported split-screen in automobiles for practically three years.