Android Auto: navigation with curvy routes on the car display

What runs in the car

DriveBattle shows up in Android Auto as a navigation app. The car displays the DriveBattle map with OpenStreetMap data, and the menus follow the templates Google prescribes for cars. The navigation is the same as on the phone. The start view follows the vehicle even without a destination and shows your speed and, when known, the speed limit of the current road. In the car settings you choose the look: Automatic (follows the car), Day or Night.

Picking a destination

“Where to?” offers search, also by voice through the car's microphone, plus Home, Work, favorites and recent destinations. Home and Work sit at the very top, the round trip is the last row. The menu has six fixed rows: Where to?, Home, Work, Recent destinations, Round trip and More. Under “More” you find Favorites, My routes, Route options and Car settings. “My routes” lists saved routes with length, driving time and curve character, and a tap starts one. You set up Home, Work and favorites on the phone.

Route preview with the curve count

After you pick a destination, the car shows up to three routes: fast, curvy and without highway. The rows are called Fastest, Curviest or Shortest and give the driving time and the time lost against the fastest route. The curvy route shows its number of curves in the row, plus a word for the character: “many tight”, “mostly medium” or “mostly flowing”. A traffic delay appears as an addition. A single button starts the drive: “Go”. The chosen route type carries a check mark.

Guidance: maneuvers, lanes, speed

The maneuver card shows the arrow, the street and the distance to the next turn, with its own symbol at roundabouts. From 1 km before a turn the lane guidance appears: matching lanes in white, the rest in gray, only when there is something to decide. Remaining distance and arrival time sit next to it. At the bottom left you see your speed and the speed limit sign, and the number changes color when you are too fast. Without a known limit the map shows only your speed, never a guessed sign. If GPS is lost, the turn hint reads “GPS lost” instead of stale distances. On arrival the car names the side of the destination, for example “Destination on right”, with the destination name and the distance driven.

Curves, traffic and speed cameras in the car

The rally curve card shows the next curve from 800 m as a colored tile, for example “R3”, with its distance. If it flows into the next one, the second sits beside it. The card appears when the curve call-out is switched on on the phone. Traffic reports arrive as a notice on the display: jam, accident and roadworks from 1.5 km away with an “Avoid” button, a closure at once and without a button because the app avoids it by itself. The notice stays for about 10 seconds and appears once per report. Fixed speed cameras show as markers on the car map. The notice with a distance from 1000 m only appears if you switched it on on the phone. You are responsible for using it yourself; in Germany § 23 para. 1c StVO governs this.

Four fixed buttons and the route hub

The action strip of the navigation has four buttons in fixed places: map or speedometer, Route, sound and Avoid road block. “Route” opens a list with the other route types and, as its last row, “Fuel”. Another route type recalculates the route from your position, and the navigation keeps running. “Fuel” lists the nearest fuel stations along the route, and a tap adds the stop. “Avoid road block” asks “How far ahead?” and offers 500 m or 2 km. You end the navigation with the X beside remaining time and distance. In Route options you can avoid highways and tolls.

Speedometer view

A tap on the first button switches between map and speedometer. The speedometer shows your speed large, the time, plus distance, driving time, average and top speed of the ride. During navigation, the next turn with its distance, the arrival time and the remaining distance sit below. You pick the scale in the car settings: automatic, 160 or 240. If you drive a car with an OBD2 adapter, the speedometer can show up to four of the values chosen on the phone.

Switching between phone and car

A navigation started on the phone appears in the car as soon as you connect, even if Android Auto is already connected. You see the notice “Navigation continues on the car screen”, and the phone shows “Running on Android Auto”. When you disconnect, the phone takes over the same drive. Only one guidance runs, with one voice. A command like “Hey Google, navigate with DriveBattle to X” lands in the route preview, and you confirm with “Go”. If it comes during a navigation, the preview of the new destination replaces the running guidance. If you switch to music or phone in the car, arrow, distance and street stay visible as a notice, one notice per turn from 300 m. The app recognizes a new car and asks on the phone whether you want to link it to a vehicle.

When network or route are missing

If the phone has had no network for more than 10 seconds, the car says “Offline - route stays active” once and shows “Offline - no live traffic” in the arrival field. If the route does not lie in a downloaded offline map, the car says so once per app session, and the navigation starts anyway. Offline maps are Premium and are downloaded on the phone. If a detour fails, the old route stays and the arrival field reads “Old route - no update”. Avoiding highways and tolls also works without a network.

What does not run in the car

Feed, chat, leaderboards and insights stay on the phone. The car routes with the car profile, even if a motorcycle is selected on the phone. Lean angle and other motorcycle functions do not exist in the car.

Requirements and status

You need Android Auto 8.1 or newer and a Premium account. Android Auto itself runs on phones with Android 9 and up. Android Auto has been in the app since version 0.22.43, and this page describes version 0.22.78. New versions reach all users in Google Play only after Google's review. If you still have an older version, Android Auto or a part of it is missing. The interface was checked with automated tests and with Google's Desktop Head Unit, the car simulation for developers. The Route menu with “Fuel” and the OBD2 values in the speedometer have not yet been run in that simulation. There is no test on a specific car model, and no promise for individual vehicles. How many rows and buttons a display shows is up to the car. If you link Android Auto to a vehicle in the garage, recording starts by itself when it connects. Bluetooth auto-start is not Premium.

What it costs

Android Auto is Premium as a whole. Without Premium the car shows only the notice “Unlock in the app on your phone” and no navigation, no speedometer and no menus. A voice command opens nothing then either. You buy on the phone, never in the car. Once you unlock Premium on the phone, the functions are ready without reconnecting. During the beta everything is unlocked. After that Premium costs money, the purchase runs through Google Play and Google Play shows the price. This page describes the Android app.

Frequently asked questions

Is Android Auto part of Premium?

Yes, as a whole. Without Premium the car shows only the notice “Unlock in the app on your phone”. You buy on the phone.

What do I need for DriveBattle in Android Auto?

Android Auto 8.1 or newer and a Premium account. Android Auto runs on phones with Android 9 and up.

Does my navigation from the phone continue in the car?

Yes. When you connect, a running navigation moves to the car, and when you disconnect it moves back to the phone. Only one guidance runs.

Can I say a destination by voice?

Yes. The search in the car takes speech through the car's microphone. A command like “Hey Google, navigate with DriveBattle to X” opens the route preview, and you start with “Go”.

Does the car show the feed, chat or leaderboards?

No. The car runs the navigation with map and speedometer. Feed, chat, battle and insights stay on the phone.

Does Android Auto navigate with the motorcycle profile?

No. The car routes with the car profile, even if a motorcycle is selected on the phone.