Android Auto Update Hints At Navigation With 'Glasses'

Google is hinting at some form of glasses integration with Android Auto through a new beta update, but there are some questions.

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

Android Auto 14.2 has just started rolling out in beta and while the update doesn’t seem to deliver any directly user-facing changes, the code behind-the-scenes hints at some potential updates coming in the future.

In our usual teardown of the latest update, we found strings that hint at a “default music provider” for Assistant (or, more likely, Gemini) and some continued work on swapping the word “car” for “vehicle,” which looks to extend to the phone screen pop-up that now tells you to “Continue setup on vehicle screen.”

The eye-catching strings in this version of Android Auto, though, discuss “Glasses.”

Specifically, there’s a new option titled “Glasses” and a string that mentions using “Glasses” with navigation.

Glasses
Start navigation to launch Glasses

This language is strange, though. “Start navigation to launch Glasses” seems to imply that “Glasses” is a feature of navigation, where one would rightly assume that this would have something to do with using some sort of glasses with navigation.

In a Hindi version of Android Auto 14.2 pulled by Android Authority, the translated version of this string reads “To view navigation on smart glasses, start navigation.” It’s still strange that the English version is so confusingly worded, but this gives us a slightly better idea of what Google has in mind.

With Android Auto’s purpose having always been to present information – whether that’s navigation, music, or messages – in a way that’s safer for drivers, smart glasses are certainly a logical next step, especially with Android XR products around the corner. Just this week, Google showed off its Android XR glasses prototype at an event, though there’s still no word on when these products will be hitting the market.

Hopefully, future Android Auto updates will continue to offer further details on this because, right now, it’s still rather murky.