Odds are you don't have Android Auto in your car, but you still might want a more optimized mobile experience for driving. That's what AutoMate aims to offer, but it's been in beta for a long, long time. That ends today as v1.0 has been uploaded to the Play Store for all to see. It squashes some bugs, and also adds a few more features.

Here's the changelog for v1.0 of AutoMate.

  • Version 1.0! Thanks to all our supporters and beta testers for getting us this far
  • Option to stop music on charger disconnect
  • Auto reply will now wait minimum 10 minutes before replying to the same person again
  • Minor settings layout changes
  • Bug fixes

 

AutoMate takes some design cues from Android Auto, for example the nav icons at the bottom of the screen. They're in the same order and even use most of the same icons. The functionality is a bit different, though. In general, AutoMate has more features, but that's because it's not using the intentionally dumbed down Auto interface for apps. It also has some features that Google probably wouldn't want to implement for liability reasons (eg. speeding and traffic camera alerts).

The app will still have a beta channel where new features are tested first, but now you can use the regular build without joining that. The basic features are all free to use. If you like what you see, the $3.17 in-app upgrade adds features like setting as a launcher and background customization.

Source: +Kahtaf Alam