At this week’s WWDC event, Apple previewed iOS 26 alongside a range of new updates, including significant improvements to CarPlay. Notably, the update introduces Live Activities and widgets, providing drivers with glanceable, real-time information without needing to open apps or handle their phones.
These features echo what Android Auto originally offered when it launched in 2014. At the time, Android Auto prioritized simplicity and proactivity, displaying navigation, phone, and music controls on a bottom bar with a homescreen powered by Google Now. Users could see minimized directions, weather updates, music, calendar events, and emails all at a glance—a design focused on convenience and minimal distraction.
However, Google shifted away from this approach in 2019, moving Android Auto toward an app-centric interface similar to Apple’s CarPlay. This move has drawn criticism for abandoning Android Auto’s original strengths.
The latest CarPlay update seems to bring back ideas Android Auto pioneered, modernizing them with widgets and Live Activities. These allow for proactive, timely information display within the vehicle ecosystem, something that Android Auto has largely neglected in recent years. While some features like auto-populated addresses from calendars remain in Android Auto, proactive elements are now sparse.
Speculation suggests Google may revisit proactive features in the future, potentially integrating advanced AI systems like Gemini. CarPlay’s widget implementation could serve as inspiration for Android Auto, although any adaptation would likely differ in form.
Until then, some users express regret that Google moved away from its innovative design prematurely, only to follow Apple’s lead years later.