One of the great things about Android Auto is that you take your infotainment with you wherever you go. If you have more than one car, you don’t need to create two different profiles. Just plug in your phone and the experience follows you. Likewise, if more than one person is sharing a car, it makes the dedicated head unit feel really irrelevant. It’s the phone that sets the stage and rules everything, right?
Your head unit does more than you think
More than a second screen
The head unit still does a lot of work when you’re using Android Auto. It has to stream video from your phone, process your touch input, control the car’s audio system, and handle Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Although most of the processing that takes place happens on the phone, since the head unit acts as an intermediary, there are still many opportunities to make things worse.
Obviously, a cheap car with cheap head units will not have the same performance, optimization or input quality as a more expensive model. So if the head unit has laggy software or slow hardware, it doesn’t matter if you’re rocking the latest flagship or vending machine phone.
Why can the same phone perform differently in different cars?
It’s all about what’s under the hood
If you’ve ever had to change cars using the same phone, you’ve probably noticed that at some point it just doesn’t feel the same. For one thing, having different screen shapes and sizes makes a difference How AA looks and feels. Cheaper units like the one in the Kia Sportage use a sluggish touchscreen that requires extra effort for the option to even register, and the image resolution is pretty low.
Connection speed and reliability also come into play. When I first got my 2020 model car, Android Auto worked reliably, connected quickly, and was pretty fast. I’ve upgraded the phones a few times since then, and Android Auto itself has gotten a few updates. So you would assume my experience would be better, not worse.
- Kind
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Android Auto and Apple Carplay adapter
- What’s Included
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Adapter, USB-C to USB-A cable
Easily add wireless Android Auto or CarPlay to your car with this capable key fob that works with both platforms.
However, Kia does not bother to update my car even though it is relatively new. Now I have to try several times before Android Auto even connects, which obviously means it’s the head unit software messing things up here. So then does to connect it seems to take forever because i’m looking at the home screen for 30 seconds before i go to the home screen.
I’ve been in nicer cars with more expensive head units and everything is sharper, smoother and more agile. So it makes a difference in terms of both user experience and reliability.
Wireless Android Auto exposes weak head units more
Mixed signals are difficult to handle
Instead of sending data via a USB cable, wireless Android Auto continuously streams audio and video over Wi-Fi, while Bluetooth handles discovery, phone calls and other communications. Both devices must maintain a fast, stable connection, while keeping the latency low enough that every touch is instantly felt.
This is a difficult task and not every department can handle it equally well. Worse, cheaper units Like my mid-range Kia, it doesn’t even have native wireless Android Auto support. This forces you to rely on dongle solutions when the head unit thinks it has a USB connection, but it’s all faked. Introducing a whole new layer that can make the whole experience terrifying.
Don’t upgrade your phone before troubleshooting your car
The reason I even want to bring this up is because I’m sure there are a lot of people who think Android Auto is broken or buggy or just plain unpleasant for their phone. But before you throw it away or at least blame it on someone else’s car, try it. There’s a good chance it’s either your particular head unit or a combination of your phone and that head unit.
Obviously, upgrading your head unit is rarely an option these days, but it’s also expensive and annoying to install. So it would be a more logical tactic to try update your head unit in the hope that performance and compatibility improve. If your head unit doesn’t have wireless Android Auto, you may also want to consider using a high-quality dongle that can resolve any specific compatibility issues your phone may have with your head unit. Heck, even you there is native wireless Android Auto, try a good dongle anyway. Especially if you have an unreliable device, this might be better than a wireless app built into your head unit.
