Android Auto v2.0 has been rolling out pretty slowly this week, to everyone around the world. The biggest feature in this update is actually the ability to use Android Auto on your smartphone, without needing a head unit or a car compatible with Android Auto. This is a feature that Google unveiled at Google I/O earlier this year. But, there’s more in this update. Android Police has torn apart the APK to see what else has changed, and found a few features that may be coming in the near future. Which includes adding some new settings and a home screen shortcut – remember that Android 7.1 adds home screen shortcuts to Android.
Some of the settings found in the APK – but not yet usable – is the ability to automatically restore the volume, rotation lock, force day/night mode, and enable “OK Google” detection for voice commands. Perhaps the most important one there is the ability to automatically restore the volume, so that when you plug your phone into the car, or open up Android Auto on your smartphone, you don’t become deaf from the volume. Now the home screen shortcut that is in this version of Android Auto is just a regular shortcut, unfortunately, and not one of the Android 7.1 shortcuts. But it allows you to quickly see where you parked your car. Definitely helpful for those times that you forget where you park, which happens from time to time.
Now there is a new feature in Android Auto that is actually available for everyone, and that’s the new FAB button in audio apps. Tapping the FAB allows you to see the alphabet (seems a bit strange but let me explain). It’ll highlight the letters of podcasts, audio books and playlists – depending on the app – so if you are looking for a specific playlist, you can just tap on the FAB and then tap the first letter of the playlist and you’re there. This is especially helpful if you have a lot of playlists in Spotify or Google Play Music. You can download the latest version of Android Auto using the link down below.
Download: Android Auto v2.0