Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Android Auto 12.6 hit beta earlier this week, but testers didn’t seem to encounter any major issues, so Google pushed it out to non-beta devices a few hours ago. The new build is rolling out to the Google Play Store in waves, with the process taking up to several weeks to complete.
This means that Android devices will not receive the new update at the same time, so if you aren't included in the first wave, the only way to update to 12.6 today is to sideload the APK build onto your device.
You can download the Android Auto 12.6 APK installer on your smartphone, go to its location and tap on the file to start the update.
As usual, Google has not shared a changelog for the new update and the release notes published on the Play Store generally indicate “bug fixes and other improvements” mentioned with each new build.
Google has been tight-lipped about its long-term strategy for Android Auto, but the company has recently been spotted working on several big changes, including radio station integration. The company wants to avoid forcing users to leave the Android Auto interface to listen to a radio station, so Google wants to bundle the full experience with the app.
Meanwhile, Google is improving the Android Auto experience on other fronts as well.
The company recently released support for Google Maps incident reporting on Android Auto, just a few weeks after the same feature was rolled out to CarPlay. Google announced incident reporting support on Android Auto in 2019, but the feature has remained exclusive to smartphones.
The expansion into phone mirroring systems began in July with CarPlay, and Google later confirmed that the same feature would also be available on Android Auto. With this feature, Google Maps expands into Waze territory, meaning users who previously installed Waze specifically to send and receive traffic alerts can now switch to Google Maps. Google will also display Waze traffic reports in Google Maps.
Android Auto 12.6 may also fix some of the glitches that have been reported recently. One of the most common issues was with the ability to make phone calls, as users complained that using voice commands to make a call didn’t work as expected. While the Google app powers voice commands and is generally responsible for everything hands-free with the app, users say that the feature was broken by a recent Android Auto update.
If you don't want to wait for the update, you can download the Android Auto 12.6 APK installer today, or you can continue with automatic distribution via the Google Play Store if you don't mind sticking with your current version for a few more weeks.