Android Auto is getting a big makeover for 2026

Google Google says 2026 is going to be one of the biggest years for Android. However, that sentiment isn't restricted to just its mobile OS because today during the Android Show: I/O Edition, the company revealed a ton of major changes coming to Android Auto and cars with Google built-in.

The first big change is a full rework of Android Auto's user interface featuring Google's Material 3 Expressive design, which adds more striking fonts, updated wallpapers and smoother animations. Furthermore, the company is borrowing widgets from its mobile division and adding support for them to your car's display, giving you more freedom to customize your layout while also providing more info at a glance. Widgets include things like shortcuts for your favorite contacts, a weather bug and virtual buttons for digital garage door openers. Google even says that Android Auto will be able to adapt its layout to accommodate cars with unusually shaped displays like the funky parallelogram screen BMW uses in the new i7.

That said, perhaps the most impactful improvement coming to Android Auto is what Google is calling Immersive Navigation, which is based around detailed 3D maps that show much more detail including things like the location of traffic lights, stop signs, the number of lanes and nearby buildings. Meanwhile, Google is continuing with its push for AI in Android Auto thanks to some new Gemini features including better contextual awareness and support for Magic Cue, the latter of which we first saw last year on the Pixel 10 family. In some respects, the ability for Gemini to surface things like addresses, appointments and other tidbits of info is arguably even more helpful while driving because this should give you more freedom to focus on the road instead of staring at a screen (or even worse, your phone).