Road insights: Google Maps update enhances Android Auto usability

Google Maps in Android Auto are becoming more attractive. Users receive an update that introduces the ability to report road disruptions such as accidents, lane closures, or police checks in Maps. This feature appeared on smartphones with Google Maps five years ago.

As reported by the site Auto Evolution, Android Auto users with the updated Google Maps app are starting to see the possibility of reporting road disruptions in their cars—lane closures, traffic jams, accidents, police checks, and similar incidents. If you feel this is nothing new, it is partially true. In the Google Maps smartphone app, the first users in Poland could use this option as early as June 2019, over five years ago.

However, we finally see the same options for Android Auto. This is a crucial change because, alongside the competing CarPlay system, it has become a standard in new cars. Therefore, it's hard to imagine users of new cars deliberately using their phone's navigation instead of the infotainment screen to see the ability to co-create the road disruptions "map" in Google Maps.

You can add a report by touching the car's screen a few times. Google analyzes these signals, and after collecting a sufficient number from various users (which confirms the authenticity of the reports), it displays the disruptions on the map. This, of course, also impacts route planning and estimated arrival time. The navigation system can then consider additional delays.

As usual, new features in Android Auto and Google Maps take some time to appear in all cars. Options are enabled server-side in batches, which in practice means it may take weeks before the feature appears for everyone. Installing the latest updates—both for Google Maps and Android Auto—can definitely help, but it's worth remembering the recent navigation issues affecting some Android users.