Google is Prepping Home Screen Widgets for Android Auto

Android Auto’s dashboard is poised for a major upgrade. Long a feature request, home screen widgets are seemingly on their way. Codenamed "Earth," this project promises to bring the familiar convenience of mobile widgets directly to your car’s display. Imagine glancing at your Android Auto screen and instantly seeing weather updates, controlling your smart home devices, or managing your music, all without navigating through menus. Google is quietly building the future of in-car infotainment, one widget at a time.

The new ‘Widget Companion’ menu in Android Auto settings helps you add home screen widgets

Android Authority’s tech wizards have unearthed a hidden gem in Android Auto’s beta (version 5.6.154404-release.daily): Earth customization! Want to personalize your in-car Google Maps experience? Dive into Android Auto’s settings and look for the newly discovered "Customize Earth" menu.

Prepare for a fresh look to your Android Auto! Post-launch, wave goodbye to "Customize Earth" and say hello to "Home Screen Widgets." Tapping this portal unleashes the Widget Companion, your personal widget command center. Sculpt your ideal dashboard – add, resize, and banish widgets with a tap. Hungry for more? The "+" icon summons a gallery of widgets, ready to populate your Android Auto home screen.

Here’s what the widgets look like in Android Auto dashboard

Imagine your Android Auto screen slicing in two, revealing a world of focused information. After choosing your perfect widget, it snaps onto the dashboard like a missing puzzle piece. Now, the left side dedicates about a third of the display (35-40%) to your chosen widget, keeping it front and center. The remaining space, the larger portion on the right (60-65%), remains dedicated to the usual navigation, media, and communication features. It’s a smart split, designed to give you instant access to what matters most, while keeping everything else easily within reach.

Spotify’s widgets put playback control at your fingertips. Designed with a sleek, horizontal layout, they offer immediate access to your music, even if track and artist details remain hidden within the app. Curious about how other Android apps stack up? Take a peek below.

There are a few limitations as of now

Android Auto’s home screen widgets? Cool concept, but brace yourself for some serious limitations. You’re stuck with ONE widget – choose wisely! Want a different view? Poof! Your current widget vanishes. And forget about fine-tuning that real estate; you’re at the mercy of a single, clunky scaling slider.

Currently, the interactive widgets are a bit of a mixed bag. Some simply aren’t playing nice with user input. However, there’s a silver lining: the Pixel Weather widgets are performing flawlessly. Clock, Weather, and Calendar widgets offer limited, yet functional, interaction. Considering this, it seems we’re glimpsing a feature still very much under construction. The big question remains: will these home screen widgets ever graduate from the development lab to our devices? Only time will tell.

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