Android Automotive update will make it easier to talk to Gemini in your car

Just like with Android on phones and tablets, Google pushes out yearly updates to its OS for cars, Android Automotive OS (AAOS). Unlike on mobile devices, these updates are typically smaller in scope; for safety, the in-car platform is intentionally more limited. While the upcoming Android Automotive 16 update won’t be as feature-packed as Android 16 for phones, it still introduces several subtle UI changes to the home screen, launcher, and notification panel, as well as makes it easier to launch the digital assistant.

Before we dive in, it’s important to clarify a few things. First, Android Automotive OS isn’t the same as Android Auto. Android Auto is an interface projected to your car’s infotainment screen from your phone, while AAOS is the native operating system that runs directly on the car’s hardware. Second, because AAOS is open-source, automakers can customize it heavily. The changes we’re highlighting are from the baseline version of the OS, meaning the final UI in your vehicle may look different. Even cars marketed with “Google built-in” aren’t guaranteed to adopt these specific changes, as that branding primarily refers to the inclusion of Google’s apps.

With that out of the way, here’s everything new we spotted in the Android Automotive 16 release.

What’s new in Android Automotive 16

On the home screen, the Weather card has been removed, allowing the Media card to become much taller. Additionally, the system bars at the top and bottom now match the UI’s background color instead of being permanently black.

The quick access volume button moves from the bottom right corner to the top left, positioning it next to the brightness control. In its place, you’ll find a new dedicated voice assistant button. This change makes launching the digital assistant more accessible and could be laying the groundwork for Gemini’s arrival in cars with Google Built-in.

Speaking of volume, the pop-up volume panel has been redesigned. It’s now fully expanded by default and no longer stretches across the entire display, instead appearing as a more compact overlay with a dimmed background. Each audio stream (like media or navigation) gets a clear text label above its corresponding slider. A new button at the top of the panel launches the media output switcher, while a shortcut to the main sound settings now sits at the bottom. Lastly, there’s a new dedicated slider for navigation volume, and “ringer volume” has been renamed to the more descriptive “in-call volume.”

The notification panel now features a fully opaque background, a departure from the dimmed transparency in the previous version. This subtle tweak should make notifications easier to read on the road.

In a similar move for legibility, the app drawer grid has been adjusted from 5×3 to 4×3. While this shows fewer icons per page, it gives app labels more space and prevents them from being cut off.

Finally, we spotted a new toggle for Ultra-Wideband (UWB) in Settings > Connected devices. UWB is the radio technology that powers the existing Android digital car key feature. The radio allows your phone to securely act as your car key, letting you lock, unlock, and start the vehicle without ever taking the device out of your pocket or bag.

None of these UI changes are splashy, especially when compared to the big Material 3 Expressive overhaul that Google recently announced for mobile devices. It makes sense why we aren’t seeing big UI changes in Android Automotive, though. Your primary focus while driving should be on the road, not on your infotainment unit. AAOS was designed to minimize distractions, which is why it avoids fancy animations and bold colors. It was also designed to be heavily customized by car makers, however, so it’s unlikely we’ll see many vehicles ship with this interface as is.

That’s everything we spotted while testing the open-source version of Android Automotive 16. Our thanks go to Snapp Automotive, a firm that specializes in developing infotainment software for cars running AAOS, for sharing the emulator images. You can try these images for yourself by following Snapp Automotive’s instructions on GitHub.

Android Automotive 25Q2 (Android 16) Release Notes

• AAOS Framework
  • Audio and radio:
    • Audio control HAL improvements: To configure car audio features, use APIs instead of XML file.
    • High definition (HD) radio Emergency Alert System (EAS): Pass EAS information to radio applications with an API. This applies to HD Radio (North America) and DAB EWS (European Union).
    • AAudio built-in library: AAudio AAudio supports OEM-defined Audio Attributes tags to customize app behavior. For example, audio routing and volume management.
  • Power management:
    • Power state notifications to built-in processes: The availability of power state notifications to OEM built-in processes (beyond Android apps) is extended.
  • Car framework:
    • Dynamic configuration of vehicle properties: Support the dynamic configuration of minimum and maximum and of supported values in vehicle properties.
• Connectivity
  • Networking:
    • Minimal Telephony: A subset of the Android Telephony Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) for automotive OEMs to allow OEMs to use Android telephony on data-only devices (including TCUs). This reduces fragmentation and provides support for telephony functionality.
    • Connectivity Messaging Upsell API: Enhanced SubscriptionManager to provide APIs that can expose a user’s mobile data subscription status. For example, active, inactive, trial, and expiration date.
    • Projected app support: Added support to let automotive OEMs configure the complete set of hostapd.conf parameters not available through the Android APIs. Added a disconnect reason to the SoftApCallback API so that OEMs can learn why clients disconnected from a Local Hotspot (LOHS). These features improve support for projected apps and reduce fragmentation.
• AAOS System UI & Experiences
  • ScalableUI: This AAOS windowing framework provides OEMs with configurable components that let OEMs meet windowing requirements and facilitate custom experiences.
• VHAL properties
  • Vehicle properties:
    • Added new vehicle properties to communicate vehicle characteristics and state.
    • Updated vehicle property constants from @SystemApi to public APIs to consolidate generated documentation at VehiclePropertyIDs. Any previously defined and documented permissions are still required to access vehicle property data.
  • Third party-accessible vehicle properties: This features makes eight existing vehicle properties relevant to navigation, voice assistant, weather, and driving state available to third party app developers. To learn more, see Integrate with Google apps and services.