Android Auto to get Gemini and new media playback features

Since July this year, Google has been working on upgrading Android Auto with the ability to control a car’s radio. Now, the latest stable version of the app reveals a feature of the upcoming functionality. Additionally, the latest beta version of the app suggests that the brand is also working on upgrading Android Auto with the ability to play ‘Local Media’ and add Gemini Live.

Android Auto will let you add and remove radio stations from ‘Favorite’

According to a new report from Android Authority, the latest stable version of Android Auto (version 12.7) contains strings of codes that suggest that it will let people add and remove ‘Favorite’ stations through an app. This is one of the basic features that a car’s infotainment system offers. So, it makes sense for Google to offer it with Android Auto’s ability to control a car’s radio system.

It could also let you play media stored in physical drives

The latest beta version of Android Auto (version 12.8) reveals that it will let people play ‘Car Local Media’. At the moment, there’s no concrete information about what this means. However, we assume that by ‘Car Local Media,’ Google is referring to media stored in pen drives, memory cards, and disk drives that you insert in a car’s infotainment system.

The ability of Android Auto to play media from those sources will come in very handy for many people who don’t want to use Android Auto but don’t want to play media through streaming services or radio. This version of the app also contains icons for radio and local media playback. So, the development of both features seems to be complete.

Gemini Live is making its way into Android Auto

The latest beta version of Android Auto also has a string of code that mentions Gemini Live’s codename, ‘kitt,’ along with the term ‘Start conversation.’ Both of those things suggest that Google is working on adding Gemini Live to Android Auto. Gemini Live might be able to carry out many tasks on Android Auto, making it much more useful and easier to use for people.

The story continues after the video…

At the moment, none of these features are live, and unfortunately, there’s also no information about when Google will make them available. That being said, considering Android Auto’s feature rollout history, Google could make those features available to the public in the next two to three months. Follow us on Telegram or WhatsApp to get more such interesting updates.