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BMW took Android and slapped it on a round display in its new Mini
Its circular OLED screen acts as a new kind of car dashboard
Following Tesla's lead, most auto manufacturers have started using significantly larger dash-mounted screens in recent years. Newer cars even have integrations like CarPlay and Android Auto, letting you use your phone's apps on your vehicle's dashboard. While this has most automakers debating between portrait and landscape layouts, BMW went in a completely different direction on its latest Mini Cooper models.
How to use Alexa in your car
Alexa can help you with navigation, calls, and music in your car. Here's how to set it up
If you're a fan of Alexa, you may enjoy asking it about the weather, traffic, and any important news. Or maybe you're a fan of using voice commands to listen to your favorite music or control other devices. Would you like to take Alexa on the go, too? All that support is also available in your car, if you follow the right process.
Established in 2016, 70mai has made significant strides in the automotive intelligence industry from its Dash Cam M500 to its latest release, 70mai is consistently striving to transform vehicle surveillance and road safety. As their newest offering, the Dash Cam Omni has been meticulously designed to elevate the driving experience by incorporating innovative features. In celebration of the Dash Cam Omni's launch, 70mai offers an exclusive, limited-time discount on this revolutionary device. From the 27th of March to the 9th of April, you can claim a 20% discount on this dash cam.
Paying for gas on your phone is more convenient than taking out a card or going inside to pay with cash. Google Assistant and Google Pay had a feature that allowed you to pay for gas through your phone that was released in 2021, but they discontinued that feature in December 2022. Other similar features, such as Chevrolet's in-car feature to pay for gas through their Marketplace, have also been axed.
Android Auto is rolling out a selection of wallpapers to fancy up your dash
It's not quite the full wallpaper support people want, but these aren't bad either
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Just a couple months ago, Android Auto added six preset images hidden away in the code that could be used as future backgrounds. We had been hoping that this meant that full custom wallpaper support would be coming soon, but instead, Google has removed most of the previous images in favor of 12 new, more car-oriented backgrounds that suit Android Auto a lot better. When they were first discovered by 9to5Google, they weren't selectable by users, but that appears to be changing: Many people report that wallpapers are now rolling out to their cars.
You can now change the car navigation icon in Google Maps, but the options are pretty lame
Let's just say you probably won't end up using them
Google Maps may be getting a new driving mode, but it turns out that the engineers over there are having some fun with more trivial things as well. The Maps app has just added three vehicle icons that you can opt to replace the car navigation icon with, though you likely won't.
Android Auto is finally bringing back access to calendar appointments
No more reaching for a phone to figure out where you need to go
When you're running late to an appointment, or even just driving around town with several stops planned, the last thing you should do is reach for your phone to look up an address. When Android Auto was announced, this seemed to be the type of problem Google was trying to solve. An imperfect solution existed through Google Assistant, but it was removed without a good alternative to replace it. But things are looking up because Google is launching a calendar on Android Auto that gives you quick and easy access to your itinerary.
Owlcam's new owner doubles subscription fees, disables many units
Customer support is slow via both phone and email
I reviewed the Owlcam, then known as the Owl Car Cam, nearly two years ago. I felt that I had been a bit hard on the product in the review, but the complaints that I'd highlighted were all valid.
Before there was the Echo Auto, there was the Anker Roav Viva: an accessory that is part phone charger, part microphone for Amazon's Alexa voice assistant. If that sounds like something you might get some use out of, it's just $17.99 at B&H Photo for the next few hours.
'OK Google, charge my car' - Assistant adds native control for chargers and batteries
Also neat for vacuums and other battery-powered devices
Google Assistant started with native support for basic smart home products like thermostats and lights, but has since expanded to dozens more from locks to vacuums, cameras, kitchen appliances, bedroom furniture, and bathroom equipment. With today's addition of chargers, Assistant has upped its tally to 60 different product types.
Android Auto is now compatible with the latest Lexus, Ferrari, and Infiniti cars
70+ models from other manufacturers have also added support, but BMW is still missing
Android Auto is making its way into more and more cars. Even notorious holdout manufacturer BMW announced 2019 that it would add support for Google's platform to its vehicles this year, though it'll have some weird limitations. While we're still waiting on the German manufacturer to pull through, the first Lexus and Infiniti models have been added to the growing list of supported cars, along with Ferrari.
Google Assistant is everywhere these days: phones, tablets, speakers, Chromebooks, and more. The first Assistant devices for cars were unveiled earlier this year, and the first model from Anker launched in April. The other device, JBL's Link Drive, was announced at CES and seemed like it wasn't going to come out. Of course, JBL is no stranger to delays, and the Link Drive just became available recently. So, how is the JBL Link Drive? It's an almost identical experience to the Anker Roav Bolt, but with more hardware disadvantages and a higher price.
Back in February, Toyota announced it was finally working on adding Android Auto support in its vehicles. Given it's one of the largest car manufacturers worldwide, it's very surprising it was so late in making the move, but the Japanese company seems to be serious in its commitment to Android Auto, as its luxury division's cars will also support it.
Ever since Google bought Waze, we've feared that the company might kill off the app and roll a worse version of it into Google Maps, as is sometimes the case with other services it owns (looking at Nest right now). But Waze is alive and well, and Google keeps adding useful new features to it, such as the Google Assistant and a carpool service. Today, Waze is also gaining support for the podcast app Castbox.
At the start of this year, Google announced it was working on Assistant devices for your car. The idea is to bring the same convenience of an always-listening smart speaker into your vehicle of choice, without requiring an expensive Android Auto head unit. The first product in this category is the Anker Roav Bolt, a small device that plugs into a car charging port.
Volvo has just taken the wraps off of the Polestar 2, an all-electric sedan-crossover thing intended to go head-to-head with the Tesla Model 3. The affordable electric car aspect isn't the only talking point of this; it's also the first vehicle with Google's deeply-integrated Android Automotive infotainment system.
JBL is bringing Google Assistant everywhere this year, from speakers to soundbars, displays, headphones, and more. The latest addition to its line-up, the JBL Link Drive, is meant to help you use Google Assistant while driving, but without taking your eyes off the road or fiddling with your phone.
Tesla just released a massive update for its fleet of cars with improvements to the Autopilot functionality, new dashboard applications, and more. To use all the new features, you'll need the latest version of the Android app, which has just been pushed to the Play Store.
Toyota is one of the few car major manufacturers that have refused to add support for Android Auto, along with BMW, MINI, and Lexus. However, that might finally be changing. According to Bloomberg, Toyota has reached an agreement with Google that may be officially announced as soon as October.
In theory, Android Auto is a fantastic idea. It brings a unified UI, Google's class-leading Maps, and seamless integration with your music, notifications, and calls to any car or head unit that supports it. But aside from the various bugs and issues that seem to continually crop up, I'd argue that Android Auto's biggest downside is having to plug and unplug your phone whenever you enter and exit your car. As a result, many people, including myself, were pretty excited to see wireless Android Auto debut at CES this year with new head units from JVC and Kenwood.A few months later, Pioneer announced two of its own wireless Android Auto head units: the 0 AVH-W4400NEX and the ,200 AVIC-W8400NEX. The former, which is the cheapest wireless AA unit on the market, is the one I'm reviewing today. While I love that this head unit was single-handedly able to put the latest and greatest tech in my 10+ year-old car, there are quite a few bugs that desperately need to be ironed out.