Soon Google will make it possible to control the car's built-in radio directly via external Android Auto. Something that has been in demand for years.
Google hasn't done anything about it for years. But now Android Auto apparently gets a decisive update.
In a piece of source code for an upcoming update of the program, the site 9to5Mac has found traces of a much-requested function – namely the ability to control the car's built-in radio directly via Android Auto.
Something that would otherwise never have been possible. If you want to use the built-in radio, it is currently necessary to switch away from Android Auto. This may have meant that users have missed important traffic announcements which are only sent out via the FM band.
But that may be over now that Google will roll out an Android Auto update with the addition of the familiar AM and FM radio. The same applies in other respects to DAB and HD Radio. The latter is primarily used by the Americans.
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How Google intends to implement the FM radio is yet to be seen. But according to 9to5Mac, it can be solved with something as simple as a link to the regular car radio in the program's user interface.
However, it is more likely that Google will choose to include FM radio as a dedicated app in Android Auto. Something that has otherwise only been possible to do via a third-party app so far.
Google's Android Auto and the CarPlay competitor from Apple are in a huge debate across the automotive industry at the moment. Because while brands like Renault and Volvo build entire systems around the programs, groups like Mercedes and General Motors don't think it's necessary.
While Mercedes will be well along the way, General Motors will not have the programs in their cars at all. Read more about it here.
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