Android Auto 14 update finally available – could remove a useful feature, but for something better

The latest version of Android Auto is now available, laying the foundation for what could be a monumental shift in how the app behaves. One of the core tenets of Android Auto could be about to be replaced and that's something that will impact all users.

This is a phased roll-out, so not all regions will yet have access to the new version (in the UK I found I was still on Android Auto V13.9 at the time of writing), but thanks to some digging by 9to5Google we have a better insight into what’s happening under the skin.

At the surface level, there doesn’t appear to be any change in Android Auto, but diving into the code, there’s more significant groundwork being laid for the arrival of Gemini. That could see Google Assistant retired from Android Auto, with Google’s new AI swinging in to replace it.

The details uncovered by 9to5Google point to various feedback options that Gemini will offer, including the likes of "How satisfied were you with Gemini in Android Auto today?” and “What was your primary goal for using voice interaction in Android Auto today? Select the task that had the biggest impact on your satisfaction”.

There are also logos for Gemini and Gemini Live lurking in Android Auto. Just to be clear though, Gemini isn’t currently being used, it’s just being prepared for the big change.

What will Gemini bring the Android Auto?

For those who haven’t been keeping up with the news, Google is retiring Google Assistant.

Its faithful voice AI was launched in 2016 with a great hurrah and went on to add intelligence to all flavours of Android devices, from phones and tablets, to televisions and Nest speakers (what happened to those, eh?).

But with the rise of more conversational AI bots, Google changed tack, deciding to drop the Google Assistant brand in favour of Gemini. Gemini has been available in Android devices since late 2023, when the Pixel 8 Pro offered access to the new AI. It then rolled-out to more devices through 2024.

The important functions in a car are navigation, messaging, calling, and controlling media playback. These are the focus of voice assistants in cars and Google Assistant handled those fairly well. However, it was always a hit-and-miss experience, not because Google didn’t understand, but because it was sometimes a little slow to respond, or just gave up entirely.

Gemini sometimes shows some of the same behaviour, but has got progressively better over the months that it has been available, so it’s now much more reliable than it was.

Gemini’s increased understanding of the contextual world around it will probably be put forward as one of the big benefits. Instead of needing precise instructions, Gemini will able to work with more natural language, like you’re asking a friend to do something, rather than asking a bot in your car.

With Google’s obvious interest in controlling the media in your car and controlling the temperature, it’s likely that Gemini being positioned for these things too. There’s nothing new here: voice assistants in cars will already respond to phrases like “I’m too cold” and make the appropriate adjustments. I suspect that Gemini will want to offer the same experience.

There’s one big downside to Gemini, though: when it doesn’t understand, sometimes it'll just start yapping, reeling off all sorts of information that might be entirely irrelevant. You’ll chastise it, at which point you’ll get a grovelling apology, where Gemini accepts that it made an error and how right you were to call it out.

It’s potentially going to be a very different experience for car drivers, once Gemini gets behind the wheel of Android Auto. But it could also be an exciting one.