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.
Read MoreChris is a hands-free digital assistant for drivers, with voice and gesture controls
IFA 2018 may be over, but there are still some interesting tidbits of news worth mentioning. One of the stands we visited briefly in Berlin last week was that of German Autolabs to see an interesting new product. It may resemble a Nest Thermostat, but Chris is actually a digital assistant for your car.
Read MoreGoogle Maps is testing a combined Commute tab to replace Driving and Transit
The Google Maps team seems to be trying out different layouts and options for its bottom tabs. Most users have three tabs (Explore, Driving, Transit), in the US and other select countries you also have the For You tab, some users are starting to see another separate tab for the Map, and I just came across this other design with a combined Commute tab.
Read More[Why?] Google Maps tests a standalone Map tab, separating it from the driving and transit views
You open a maps application, you expect to see a map of where you are. It's common sense, yet we have to start this news article with this pretty basic knowledge bit. The reason? Whoever is behind the latest Google Maps server-side test seems to have missed that "Map app making 101" lesson and went free-styling with their own ideas.
Read More'Navigation for Google Maps Go' fixes one of Android Go's biggest problems [APK Download]
The single largest omission present in Google Maps Go (and, in part, Android Go) was the lack of proper navigation support. If you tried to use the app to get turn-by-turn directions, you were pretty much out of luck, as it would just point you to the more fully-featured Google Maps app—basically defeating the purpose of a "maps" app, in my opinion. Well, Maps Go still can't do navigation, but Google has seen fit to break that functionality out into yet another Go app: Navigation for Google Maps Go.
Read MoreDriving Detective brings automatic Do Not Disturb while driving to non-Pixel phones using official Transition API
The Pixel 2 launched with many neat tricks under its belt, one of which is the option to automatically turn on Do Not Disturb while driving. Later on, Google opened up the smarts behind this to developers with the Transition API, letting them easily implement a real-world activity detection algorithm into their apps. And we're now reaping the benefit: Driving Detector is a new application that turns on Do Not Disturb automatically when driving, using the official API, and it works on non-Pixels too.
Read MoreGoogle opens Pixel 2's intelligent driving-detection API for developer use
The Pixel 2 has a handy feature that allows the phone to turn on Do Not Disturb when it detects its user is driving a car. The trick is enabled by a tool called the Transition API, which uses algorithms to recognize different types of real-world activity. Google announced Tuesday that the Transition API is now available for use by all Android developers.
Read MoreGarmin Speak with Amazon Alexa is a tiny smart GPS unit for your car
If you think it looks like a miniature Echo Dot for your car, you're basically spot on. The Garmin Speak is a GPS navigation unit with Amazon Alexa built-in. It was announced yesterday and is the first in-car device of its kind to add Alexa capabilities. At just an inch and a half, it's tiny, and yet it offers the same turn-by-turn GPS navigation as Garmin's other products while also including Amazon's smart assistant.
Read MoreThe Best Of AP
BBC iPlayer Radio app updated to support Android Auto [APK Download]
If you've ever sampled the BBC's excellent radio output, there's one app you really need in your life: BBC iPlayer Radio. It's a one-stop shop for all BBC radio shows, from sport to comedy to current affairs, and while the app may have its quirks, it's still a mostly good experience on Android.
The latest update to the app includes support for Google's in-car OS Android Auto (as well as Apple CarPlay), so you can more easily and safely listen to your favorite shows while you're behind the wheel. According to the BBC, 22 million people listen to its radio shows when driving, and a good number of those are likely to have Android Auto installed in their cars, so this will be good news for many.
Read MoreHUDWAY's Cast Kickstarter promises an affordable and universal heads-up display for your car
It's 2017, and we still don't have commercial flying cars, affordable jet-packs, or even automated package delivery. But thanks to HUDWAY, at least one sci-fi mainstay has made its way into the consumer market. Today the company launched a Kickstarter for its newest product, an affordable heads-up display called the HUDWAY Cast.
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