Yet again, Google Assistant on Android Auto is getting a major redesign, but this time it also applies to voice replies, and it’s a pretty slick experience.
Google Assistant has had a ton of different looks on Android Auto over the years, as Google has never really seemed to settle on one design for very long. The latest design has been in place since August of 2023. Now, another new design is rolling out, but it’s easily one of the best we’ve seen to date.
The new Google Assistant experience on Android Auto shows the “listening” UI on the bottom bar that replaces your app icons (or vertically along the side, if your car shows it that way). A “Hi, how can I help you?” tag appears if you don’t immediately start speaking, but once you’ve started speaking, Google will transcribe what you’ve said along this bar. Replies from Assistant are still read aloud and not shown on screen.
You can see a brief clip of the new UI in action down below, as well as in the screenshots below.
It’s a really nice evolution of Google’s design, but it’s not the only change we’re seeing here.
Alongside the new Assistant look, Google is also revamping how voice replies work on Android Auto.
As previously, this is all handled with Assistant, but the voice replies now appear in any space not being used by maps in Android Auto. In the case of my screen, which has an adjusted DPI via AAWireless, voice replies show along the bottom row of widgets. One panel shows a “Speak now” prompt which then transcribes your message, while also offering prominent “Cancel” and “Send” buttons. Next to that, the profile picture and name of the person you’re talking to is shown, as well as a small icon for the app being used (in this case Telegram).
Top comment by Luke Vesty
Nice. I've gotta say I really love Android Auto and wouldn't buy a car without it. It's continued to receive meaningful and useful upgrades since day one.
This will vary from screen to screen, but on smaller screens will show everything in a single, vertical panel that has the contact name and picture at the top and the message above the cancel and send buttons.
These changes come as Google prepares to deliver support for AI message summaries on Android Auto and more contextual auto-replies. A preview video of those features showed similar design elements to what we’re seeing now, but the new features don’t seem to be live just yet.
We’re seeing these redesigns on Android Auto version 11.2, which just started rolling out via the Play Store this week through the beta program. However, we suspect these updates are not entirely dependent on the specific app version. The change will likely roll out to all users over the coming weeks if it’s not already available.
More on Android Auto:
- Android Auto getting AI summaries and more relevant replies, actions
- Microsoft Teams comes to Android Auto next month, nearly a year after it was announced
- AAWireless 2 quick look: How it compares to the original Android Auto adapter [Gallery]
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