Tag Archives: driving

Android, Lifestyle, Mobile

Android Auto Says Goodbye to Phone Screens

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Google’s Android Auto experience is bidding goodbye to smartphone screens. The experience which was first announced back in 2015, will be moving exclusively to car screens in the near future. This news comes after Google released Android Auto for phone screens in 2019 as a stop guard measure as the platform matured for the in-car infotainment systems.

Screenshot 2022 06 27 at 23 58 40 Android Auto Android
Source: Android.com

It looks like that stop guard measure is now being replaced by Google Assistant’s driving mode. You would have realised that Google Assistant tends to notify you when it detects you driving or when you say “Hey Google, I’m driving”. The new driving mode isn’t a full-fledged Android Auto replacement, but it does provide easy access to all the apps you will need while driving.

While it does seem like a sudden move to remove Android Auto for Phone screens, it’s not as sudden as you might think. Google has been slowly removing support for Android Auto for phone screens since 2019. In its latest update, support for the app was reduced to only devices with Android 12 and above. Keep in mind, that the app for Phone Screens is already a whole generation behind Android Auto itself at this point.

Google Assistant’s Driving Mode has been in the works for a while now. It was only rolled out last year after extended delays. Moving forward, it seems like Google will be putting more emphasis on Driving Mode for phones and keeping Android Auto exclusively on Car infotainment systems.

Google Assistant's driving mode

Google Assistant’s Driving mode is available for Android smartphones running Android 9.0 or higher with a minimum of 4GB of RAM. According to Google’s own support page, the feature is available in selected regions only including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. However, we’ve been using it for the past month in Malaysia. So, it might need to be updated.

.Did you use Android Auto for smartphones? Are you using Google Assistant’s Driving Mode? Let us know in the comments.

Android, iOS, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

New Features in Waze, New Experiences on Waze

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Finding it difficult to search for routes while driving? Waze’s new features are helping drivers to get back on the road safer and faster (Not driving faster, mind you). So far there are seven new features from Waze that is now available in app.

Nearly everyone uses Waze to get to another destination these days (at least in Malaysia). Thanks to users everywhere, Waze is able to partner with municipalities and transit authorities to ease traffic and reduce congestion. The community based app, in some sense, has done more for the motorists than governments.

Source: Waze

Waze will now provide all sorts of new information to drivers before even leaving for a drive. Waze delivers information such as travel times, or even traffic predictions based on past and current driving history. It even gives you personalised recommendations based on your driving data.

Waze can now also show drivers the recent destinations so that drivers would not need to keep searching for an address again within the Waze app. They are now what Waze calls “Front and center” on the app for easy access. No more fumbling with your smartphone in the car.

Source: Waze

The app now also saves Live data for your convenience. Again, using past and current driving and navigation data, even your input, Waze keeps your itinerary for you. That allows you to technically just turn on the app every morning, for example, and start driving to work, wherever it is. The app will also tell you when is the best time to leave for work depending on the conditions on the road on specific days.

It is dangerous for you to work with your smartphone on-the-move, especially when you are driving. You would want to minimise your interaction with the smartphone. Thing is, when your car is running out of fuel, you might panic and start fumbling the device to search for the nearest petrol kiosk. Panic not, quickly open the Waze app and with the quick search, helpful location badges and bubles, including fuel stations will appear to you.

Source: Waze

Lane Guidance is a livesafer in a lot of cases. It is a feature that is long awaited on the ever popular navigation app. The new feature Lane Guidance will tell users which lane to be in to ensure that you do not miss a turning.

2020 is an odd year. With the pandemic situation, it is difficult to not just move around. It is difficult to predict traffic. Waze has somehow improved their brilliant ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) algorithm. That means it is even more accurate in areas with less drivers, and it is better at predicting changes in traffic patterns.

  • Source: Waze
  • Source: Waze

The most exciting new feature is the Batman Theme. The Waze users can activate the Batman experience on Waze either selecting the famous voice of Batman (Kelvin Conroy) or The Riddler (Wally Wingert) to let them drive with new experience with English, Portuguese and Spanish until 30 October 2020. The Waze app is a free app available on Android and iOS devices on Google Play Store and Apple App Store respectively.