Google has been working on a new media playback template for Android Auto for a while now. It initially announced the new media app templates at I/O 2025 as part of the Android for Cars App Library. After a long wait, the company appears to have finally started pushing this Android Auto change widely.
Several Android Auto users on Reddit report seeing the new media playback UI on their vehicle’s infotainment system this morning (via Android Authority). The most noticeable change is the wavy progress bar, matching the Material 3 Expressive design guidelines that media player apps on Android follow.
As part of the Now Playing screen’s revamp, Android Auto splits playback controls across two halves of the display, with the left side housing the play/pause button. The right side will house controls specific to the app, like playback speed controls in a podcast app.
Some users may find the shift of playback controls to the left a bit jarring, especially in right-hand-drive cars. It will also disrupt years of muscle memory. So, there’s going to be an adjustment period initially.
The changes don’t appear tied to a Play Store release, indicating Google may be pushing it widely through a server-side update. Most Android Auto media apps should automatically use the new UI the next time you fire up Android Auto in your car.
This music player redesign arrives as Google rolls out an Android Auto update to fix the connectivity issues affecting many Samsung and Pixel users over the past few days.
Google takes its time with Android Auto updates
Credit: Lucas Gouveia / Android Police
For some reason, Google has always been slow to roll out changes to Android Auto. Despite announcing Gemini’s rollout for Android Auto in late 2025, the AI-powered assistant has yet to become widely available. This staggered release pattern can take the sheen off new features as they arrive months after the initial announcement.
The problem is that even if Google is taking a cautious approach to rolling out Android Auto updates to avoid widespread bugs, the strategy does not seem to work, as evident from connection issues that keep popping up every few months.