The beta rollout of Android Auto 14.2 has started, and though this update does not appear to bring anything new for ordinary users, the code gives hope for underlying thrilling features.
As part of our now-usual dig into an updated Android Auto build, we found clues about possibly having a default music provider for Assistant (or maybe Gemini) and that the search for ‘car’ replacing ‘vehicle’ continues. That applies to the notification on the phone screen ,which now tells users to “Continue setup on the vehicle screen.”
But the most interesting portion regarding this release of Android Auto is the reference to the ‘Glasses.’ There is a new option called Glasses, accompanied by some phrases for using Glasses alongside navigation.
The wording is pretty confusing. The glorified verbatim translation of “Start navigation to launch Glasses” implies that Glasses is some navigation feature and leads to the assumption that it has to do with using some kind of glasses for navigation.
The sentence as translated in a Hindi version of Android Auto 14.2 fetched by Android Authority reads, “To view navigation on smart glasses, start navigation”. Perhaps the English could still render things somewhat cloudy around this, although this translation gives quite a different insight into what Google intends.
Considering that Android Auto has always been about presenting any information, music, or messages in a way that makes it safer for the driver, the assumption would be that smart glasses would be the next phase, especially with Android XR products in the pipeline. Within the last week, Google revealed a prototype of its Android XR glasses at an event, though there has been no word to date on their consumer availability. The calculated prospects could be that Meta reportedly rejected Google partnership for Android XR.
It can be only hoped that with further updates to Android Auto, this aspect will become clearer since, up to this point, it is quite vague
