Google just made your car screen as smart as your phone – and it’s about to get a lot more fun

Android Auto is getting its biggest overhaul ever. Google has announced a wave of upgrades that will change how millions of drivers use their cars.

The headline feature is a complete visual redesign. Android Auto now pulls the Material 3 Expressive design from your phone – the same fonts, animations and wallpapers, straight to your dashboard. Android Auto has been feeling dated for several years now, especially with Apple CarPlay Ultra available, so it’s nice that it finally feels like a product from this decade

Navigation gets a serious upgrade too. Immersive Navigation brings a vivid 3D view of buildings, overpasses and terrain to Google Maps. It highlights lanes, traffic lights and stop signs to help with those moments where you’re not quite sure which lane to be in. Google calls it their biggest Maps update in over a decade.

Then there’s the entertainment news, which is genuinely exciting. For the first time, you’ll be able to watch YouTube on your car screen while parked or charging. It plays in full HD at 60fps. Modern cars with their big screens and premium sound systems are basically private cinemas – and Google is finally treating them that way.

Spatial audio with Dolby Atmos is coming too, for supported cars and apps.

Gemini gets smarter on the road as well. It’s now widely available in Android Auto and can handle genuinely useful tasks. Ask it to order your usual from DoorDash while you drive, confirm with a tap, and your food is ready when you arrive.

For cars with Google built-in (now in over 100 models across 16 brands) the upgrades go even deeper. Gemini can answer questions specific to your actual car, like explaining a warning light you’ve never seen before. Google Maps gains live lane guidance, using your car’s front-facing camera to track exactly which lane you’re in and advise you in real time. That’s really impressive..

Zoom is coming to cars with Google built-in this year too– whether that’s a good thing is another question entirely!

These updates roll out across Android Auto and cars with Google built-in throughout 2025. The full HD video experience launches later this year, starting with BMW, Ford, Genesis, Hyundai, Kia, Mahindra, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Škoda, Tata and Volvo. Dolby Atmos launches on a similar set of brands.

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Spencer Hart Buying Guide Editor

About

As Buying Guide Editor, Spencer is responsible for all e-commerce content on Stuff, overseeing buying guides as well as covering deals and new product launches. Spencer has been writing about consumer tech for over eight years. He has worked on some of the biggest publications in the UK, where he covered everything from the emergence of smartwatches to the arrival of self-driving cars. During this time, Spencer has become a seasoned traveller, racking up air miles while travelling around the world reviewing cars, attending product launches, and covering every trade show known to man, from Baselworld and Geneva Motor Show to CES and MWC. While tech remains one of his biggest passions, Spencer also enjoys getting hands-on with the latest luxury watches, trying out new grooming kit, and road-testing all kinds of vehicles, from electric scooters to supercars.

Areas of expertise

Watches, travel, grooming, transport, tech