Android Auto should really add passenger smartphone support

Of all the Google products that I use daily, Android Auto may be my favorite. Whenever I get into my car, it gets reliable with all my applications and my audio ready to leave, alongside my Google Maps screen detailing traffic nearby. It works perfectly as a driving assistant, but it’s no longer a challenge to use as a passenger.

I often drive with my partner next to me. She generally chooses music and underlines the notifications and important alerts of the passenger seat while I focus on traffic. In this sense, Android Auto is not entirely a motor assistance but rather a tool controlled by passengers in my vehicle, especially during longer journeys. However, as Android Auto only relays the applications and content available on the smartphone connected to it, it cannot use its device to control it.

This means that it is limited to applications, reading lists and everything I downloaded or installed on my phone. If we want to listen to an audio book stored on your phone via Android Auto, we can’t. If there is a point of interest that she found on her phone, she cannot relay this to the main unit.

If she wants or has to do anything via Android Auto, she must use the screen integrated into our car, because my phone is usually stored. This implies interacting manually with the screen, which I find very distracting, especially when it needs advice on activating this or trigger.

So what would be the solution? Android Auto could be much better for all occupants if Google has deployed the care of a passenger’s smartphone.

My favorite implementation of such a system would allow my partner to use his phone to control Android Auto running on mine. This would allow him to manage, access and transmit content to the main unit via his device, even with my connected smartphone, keeping the distractions at least and giving it more agency. This would also guarantee that I have immediate access to all the applications or information I need that it may not have on its device.

Another possibility is to allow two phones to connect to Android Auto – multi -user support effectively. Being able to switch between two automotive profiles connected to the car simultaneously would completely solve this problem. My partner could play its Spotify content while the navigation that was launched on my device could continue. Such a system would also be ideal for users with work devices and personal or those who have separate phones that share driving tasks on longer trips. As two devices are connected simultaneously, it is not necessary to connect / reconnect each time the pilots exchange.

My vision is not quite a pipe dream. Google addressed this exact problem, but not for Android Auto. Android Automotive, Google’s Android operating system based on the car, has cooked directly in the vehicle, prepares a simultaneous multi-user functionality, which makes it possible to support two distinct user interface environments of the operating system to operate simultaneously. This means that drivers can access their navigation and alert applications, while passengers can access their facilities and their media. All this would work on a single screen.

As the automobile is a complete operating system operating on the real equipment of the vehicle, I understand that such a configuration is easier to implement for the native operating system. The implementation of the multi-user support can be more difficult with Auto, which is essentially a projection of connected phones. However, I think there is the possibility of exploring the possibilities.

I recognize that there are bypass solutions for the problems of my passengers. For example, my partner could connect his phone to Bluetooth to read the media without connecting to Android Auto. It’s capricious, but it would work. It is not a radical solution, however.

Perhaps the care of the passenger phone or multi-user management is not something that Android Auto needs explicitly. It’s enough niche, but having the option would be welcome.