Your Car and Phone Get Smarter: Google’s latest upgrades for Android Auto and Messages

Google is always working to make its key apps more helpful, and some important changes are on the way for both the Android Auto experience in your car and the standard Google Messages app on your phone. These updates focus on better control, easier navigation, and fixing annoying issues.

Better Ways to Control Your Car Screen

For drivers using Android Auto, Google appears to be preparing major new ways to customize what you see on the screen. Right now, the company is testing new options for the small interactive boxes, known as widgets, that sit on your home screen.

Soon, you might have more control over how these widgets look, with options to change their height and place them exactly where you want them on the display. This means you can decide if you want a large widget for music or a smaller one for quick information.

In addition to widgets, there might be a simpler way to look at the bottom bar on Android Auto. This is the row that currently shows the clock and a few app shortcuts spread out across the screen. Google is testing a different layout that moves all these items closer together in the center.

While this new, condensed view looks cleaner and simpler, it might mean losing the easily visible clock and having access to one less app shortcut. This change is still being developed, so Google has time to figure out the best approach before rolling it out to everyone.

Making EV Charging Easier to Find in Google Maps

Another big improvement for Android Auto is focused on owners of electric vehicles (EVs). When you need to find a charging station, Google Maps will soon make it much faster to search for the right spot.

The current process for finding chargers with specific details is a bit complicated. However, soon you’ll be able to access all the charging filters just by tapping the Settings icon inside Google Maps on your car screen. This saves you the trouble of having to start a search first.

Once you are in the settings, you can choose exactly what you need. You’ll be able to filter results based on charging speed, picking from options like “Slow charge” or “Quick charge,” or even setting custom ranges, such as stations that offer 150 kilowatts (kW) of power or faster.

What’s more, Google is adding a new filter that lets you search by payment method. This is a huge help, as it means you can quickly find a station that accepts the payment type you prefer, whether that’s a specific network card or a mobile payment option. Best of all, once you set these preferences, Google Maps will remember them, so you won’t have to adjust your filters every time you look for a charger.

Fixing the Annoying Photo Bug in Messages

Switching gears from the car to your phone, Google is also working on a much-needed fix for a frustrating issue in the Google Messages app. Many users have complained about a long-standing bug that affects the built-in gallery screen—the one that pops up when you want to quickly attach a photo or video to a text.

The problem was that this gallery would constantly try to auto-rotate when you tilted your phone, even if you had already disabled the auto-rotate setting for your whole device. This was especially irritating if you were lying down and texting, as the app would tell you to rotate your phone just to access your pictures.

Luckily, an upcoming update will solve this. The fix will make sure the gallery screen respects your device’s rotation settings. If you lock your phone screen in the portrait position, the Messages gallery will stay put.

The update also includes a few visual touch-ups, such as softer, rounded corners for a more modern look, and a better design for when you do choose to hold your phone sideways. This change will finally get rid of one of the app’s most persistent and annoying issues.