{"id":22114,"date":"2026-07-12T03:46:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T02:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovatenews.site\/index.php\/2026\/07\/12\/i-wish-someone-told-me-about-these-5-android-auto-settings-before-i-bought-my-new-car\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T03:46:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T02:46:38","slug":"i-wish-someone-told-me-about-these-5-android-auto-settings-before-i-bought-my-new-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innovatenews.site\/index.php\/2026\/07\/12\/i-wish-someone-told-me-about-these-5-android-auto-settings-before-i-bought-my-new-car\/","title":{"rendered":"I wish someone told me about these 5 Android Auto settings before I bought my new car"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The topic I wish someone told me about these 5 Android Auto settings before I bought my new car<\/strong> is currently the subject of lively discussion \u2014 readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.<\/p>\n

This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies\u2019 decisions and competitors\u2019 reactions can quickly change the picture.<\/p>\n

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Up until about two months ago, I had been driving a 2003 PT Cruiser for nearly a decade. That car and I went through so many stages of life together, but unfortunately, a busted transmission and a $4,000+ repair bill ended our time together earlier this year.<\/p>\n

That meant it was time to buy a new car. I ended up with a 2022 Hyundai Tucson, and as you might expect, there\u2019s a big technological shift when buying a car that\u2019s almost 20 years newer. I now have cruise control, heated seats, and \u2014 of course \u2014 Android Auto.<\/p>\n

I basically went into learning Android Auto blind, and after just a couple of months, I don\u2019t know how I lived without it for so long. However, my introduction to the platform would have been even better if someone had first told me about these 5 settings.<\/p>\n

By default, the bottom bar in Android Auto serves as a taskbar for your apps. It\u2019s great if you frequently switch between multiple applications, but there\u2019s another way to use the taskbar that I find much more helpful.<\/p>\n

On your Android phone, open the Settings app, tap the search bar\/icon at the top of the page, and type \u201cAndroid Auto\u201d to find and access Android Auto settings on your phone (select the one that says \u201cUse apps on your vehicle screen\u201d). Once you\u2019re on the Android Auto settings page, scroll down to the Display section, then tap the toggle next to Taskbar widgets.<\/p>\n

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Once this is enabled, your taskbar will now display miniature widgets instead of your app icons, depending on what you\u2019re doing. for example, if you have music playing but open the Google Maps app, you\u2019ll see a mini music player widget in the taskbar with quick access to playback controls. Alternatively, if you have your music app in full-screen, you\u2019ll see Maps turn-by-turn directions in the taskbar.<\/p>\n

This may sound like a small change, but it\u2019s been one of my favorite Android Auto settings so far. It\u2019s such a smart way to enable multitasking in the car, and I don\u2019t plan to ever turn off these taskbar widgets.<\/p>\n

The Android Auto launcher may not be as customizable as the launcher on your Android phone, but that doesn\u2019t mean it has zero customization. In fact, there\u2019s a whole page dedicated to it.<\/p>\n

Staying on the same Android Auto settings page (you\u2019ll use it for all of the tips in this article), scroll down until you see the Display section we were just at. Right above the Taskbar widgets setting, tap Customize launcher.<\/p>\n

This takes you to a new page where you can completely customize the appearance of your Android Auto app drawer. You can rearrange the order in which apps appear by moving the handles on the left. Additionally, tapping the checkbox for any apps you don\u2019t want to see will hide them from the app drawer. It may not be the most groundbreaking customization ever, but I\u2019ll take what I can get.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019m sure most people do, I frequently have navigation and media playback running when I\u2019m in the car. By default, Android Auto displays your maps\/navigation app on the left side (closest to the driver) and whatever media app you\u2019re using to the right.<\/p>\n

This layout is fine, but especially if your car has a large cabin or a big infotainment screen, having your media controls on the right can make them just out of reach. Thankfully, Android Auto lets you change this.<\/p>\n

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From the Android Auto settings page on your phone, scroll to the bottom until you see the Advanced section. Below this, tap Change layout and then tap Media closer to driver. Now, your navigation and media apps swap positions on the home screen, putting your music or podcast controls closer to you.<\/p>\n

Speaking of media playback, Android Auto is configured by default to automatically play whatever you were last listening to on your phone right when you turn on your car. I usually don\u2019t mind this, but there are instances where I\u2019d prefer to choose what I\u2019m listening to before Android Auto automatically starts playing something I don\u2019t want.<\/p>\n

Once again, there is a setting to correct this. Go back to the Android Auto settings on your phone, and at the top of the page, there\u2019s a section called Startup. Here, tap the toggle next to Start music automatically to disable the feature.<\/p>\n

Now, when you get in your car, Android Auto won\u2019t blast you with a song or podcast unless you manually start it first. You\u2019re welcome.<\/p>\n

I know some people can\u2019t stand Gemini, but there are times where the AI can be genuinely helpful \u2014 especially the more you make it work for you. And believe it or not, there\u2019s a pretty clever way to use Gemini in the car.<\/p>\n

From the same Customize launcher page we were on earlier, tap Add a shortcut to the launcher and then tap A Gemini action from the pop-up. From here, you can type in the command you want to give Gemini and add a name for it.<\/p>\n

The beauty of Gemini actions is that you can configure multiple things to happen with just the press of a button. for example, I created an action called \u201cDriving home\u201d that does all of the following: Starts turn-by-turn directions back to my house, sets the air conditioner to 70 degrees, turns on the living room lights, and plays one of my go-to playlists on Apple Music.<\/p>\n

Gemini actions appear in your app drawer, and you can arrange them alongside your other apps using the same steps above to customize your launcher. If you put some time into creating a few multi-step Gemini actions, they can prove to be extremely powerful.<\/p>\n

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