14 DAY TRIAL // Google has started the official rollout of the Android Auto overhaul that the company announced earlier this year at the I/O 2019 event.
At that point, the search giant said the refreshed Android Auto experience would go live in the summer, and albeit no specifics were provided, people familiar with the matter said the target was late June.
By the looks of things, this information was accurate, as Google has now commenced the global rollout of the Android Auto redesign as part of version 4.4.
However, it’s very important to note that the release takes place in stages and appears to be based on a server-side switch. In other words, not everyone is getting the overhauled Android Auto just by installing version 4.4, but users need to wait for Google to enable the update on its side.
Not available for everyone
A discussion thread on reddit indicates that the new AA is now available in the United Kingdom, albeit not everyone in the country seems to be getting it. There’s no clear pattern as to who receives the refreshed UI and who does not.
I installed version 4.4.592344 on my Samsung Galaxy Note 9 but the overhauled AA experience isn’t yet available.
Users who received the Android Auto redesign say they were asked to unplug and reconnect the phone to the car, with the new UI then showing up on their screens.
The new AA version comes with a navigation bar whose functionality adapts to the running apps, and it can display buttons for controlling the media playback, navigation, and calls. The UI has been redesigned with a smaller status bar, and AA now features a notification center to display the call and message history.
You can download Android Auto 4.4 from Softpedia for sideloading or wait for the new version to go live on the Play store in the coming days.