- Google has made a small but useful tweak to Android Auto
- Driving status can now be ascertained via Bluetooth
- This reduces the chances of mistakenly ignoring notifications
If you’re a regular Android Auto user, you might have noticed that there’s a rather complicated set of rules around notifications being automatically blocked while you’re driving – but it looks like Google has now fixed one of the most frustrating issues.
As spotted by Android Authority, the option to have Disturb not automatically enabled in Android Auto when motion is detected appears to have been tweaked. This setting was known to accidentally set off alarms on both passengers’ and drivers’ phones.
Now the old option to have Do Not Disturb turn itself on when the phone is connected to a car dashboard via Bluetooth has been added back. It is a much more reliable indicator of whether someone is driving and whether this mode should be activated.
It makes sense that you don’t necessarily want a barrage of alerts distracting you while you’re behind the wheel, but it’s also important to give users control over this – and not have Do Not Disturb activate itself without any manual interactions.
Check for updates
Google hasn’t actually said anything official about this, so we don’t have the whole story, but according to Android Authority, the update is starting to roll out across various Android devices. Version 26.05.32 of Google Play Services is the update to watch out for.
On a Pixel phone, you can check if you’ve got the update by opening Settings and then tapping Conditions and Driving. If you choose While drivingyou will see that the Bluetooth option is back if your version of Google Play Services is fully updated.
Samsung phones actually do it best because they also make the phone check that it’s connected to an Android Auto dashboard – not just a Bluetooth device. Let’s hope Google adds a little more granular control here in the future.
The next notable Android update is Android 17 and it should arrive later this year with several upgrades included. So far, however, there have been no indications that Android Auto will receive significant upgrades.
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