Google has confirmed some of the tools available to developers of Android Auto apps.
There will be more control options and access to more features, with updates for Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube Music coming soon.
Google is preparing for a big push with Android Auto, expanding the range of apps that the system will offer you, to better rival systems like Tesla’s, which includes access to video apps.
Google confirmed these changes at Google I/O 2025 and followed up with an official blog, telling us that video and browsers will soon be supported in Android Auto and have already started their move to Android Automotive.
There’s a reworking of media apps happening across the phone-based in-car system from Google, with a little more detail surfacing about how these apps might look and behave.
Now, thanks to an Android Developers video, we have a little more detail, including how features in media apps will be improved. Currently, what you get in Android Auto is nowhere near as comprehensive as what you get in the proper Android app and that could change, making apps more useful.
For example, Spotify will be bringing Spotify Jam to Android Auto, so those collaborative sessions with friends can enhance the experience you get in the car. Google’s aim with giving developers more freedom is to make sure that an app’s unique features can shine through.
That will also include better discovery and browsing options when searching for content to play.
Google will also enable a great video-to-audio feature, which means that you can be watching something when parked and continue to listen to the audio once you start driving again. This is going to be great for sports, where you might be watching the game while charging your car and then continue listening as you continue your drive.
The confusing button layout is back
The other thing that surfaced is that the confusing button layout we saw recently might not have been a mistake. I reported a few weeks back that a user had found media control buttons in a different order (with play on the left rather than in the centre). This appears to be Google moving to allow media companies the freedom to customise the controls a little more.
While that change of order appeared in the beta, it wasn’t in the release that followed, but it seems that this is still something that Google is going to make available. That could mean that some apps appear with controls in one order and some appear with a different layout. Exactly how this experience in the car will play out remains to be seen.
To start with, Google has confirmed that Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube Music are going to make use of the new upgrades (although hasn’t specified what those changes might be), so keep an eye on those apps for updates.
