Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Most of these car manufacturers, like Mazda, spend a lot of time optimizing their software for use with control knobs and touchpads.
This makes sense, as they need to provide customers with a seamless experience from end to end. Using the native infotainment system with a control knob is usually easy, and while there is a learning curve, it won't take long to figure out how everything works.
The problem is when you go beyond the native infotainment software. With Android Auto and CarPlay becoming indispensable in-vehicle features, almost everyone wants to connect their smartphones to their cars for instant access to Google Maps, Waze, Spotify, or whatever other apps they want to use while driving.
Android Auto and CarPlay offer multiple control options, with voice control being the preferred option. Drivers can stay connected to their apps and control key features without looking at the screen. For example, they can set a new destination in Google Maps, change a song in YouTube Music, or send a text message with voice commands via Google Assistant and Siri.
Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
However, voice commands don’t always get the job done. First, they don’t work with all voices. Second, they don’t work with all languages. Third, they’re painfully unreliable, especially on Android Auto.
That’s why many drivers are turning to alternative input methods. However, controller and touchpad support in Android Auto and CarPlay seems like a work in progress, and Google even confirmed that this was the case four years ago. In 2020, the search giant confirmed that “some Android Auto apps don’t yet support touchpad input.”
This is a limitation that some drivers have discovered the hard way, struggling to use apps on Android Auto. While touchpad support is there, it’s not 100% reliable, and there’s still a lot of work to be done. Several readers have contacted me in recent months to complain about the lackluster touchpad support, and according to a note buried in Waze’s Android Auto support documents, it’s something the search giant is still working on.
Google says it is “working on providing touchpad support in the near future,” but that status has remained unchanged for the past four years. If you install the emulator, touchpad support it's thereBut drivers continue to complain about reliability issues. Some apps don’t work, and Android Auto control is sometimes slow or freezes for no reason.
Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
I reached out to Google to ask for more information on this update, but have not received a response. I first covered this topic in 2020, when the search giant first announced its increased focus on touchpad support directly in Android Auto. I picked up on the topic again in 2023, and now I’m discussing it again in 2024, hoping we’ll finally have a clear picture of Google’s plans on this front.
Meanwhile, Google is also working on other major updates for Android Auto, including direct support for vehicle radios.
While listening to online radio is a breeze on Android Auto, thanks to apps like TuneIn, Google knows that some drivers still listen to traditional radio stations. However, Android Auto can’t access the vehicle’s radio media, so users who want to tune into a station must exit the app, go into the car’s infotainment system, open the radio interface, find a station to listen to, start it, and return to Android Auto.
Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
If they want to change the radio station, they have to repeat the same process all over again, and it’s easy to see why this is frustrating and may lead to users never returning to Android Auto.
Google wants to address this gap and has started developing a new feature to integrate car radio into Android Auto. It’s still early days and it’s unclear how it will all shape up, but there are two ways Google can bring radio to Android Auto. First, Google can add a shortcut to take users directly to the car’s radio station list. That’s the easy option. Second, Google can integrate full radio support into Android Auto, so users can control what they listen to without leaving the app. That’s the hard option, but I think it’s what the search giant is aiming for in the long run.
There’s no word on when this feature might start rolling out to users, but Google has been tight-lipped about its long-term updates.
What's your experience with Android Auto, touchpad, and control knobs? Let me know in the comments below so we can tell Google what to fix.