Andy Walker / Android Authority
Just this week, I was caught admiring the pretty features that CarPlay users are privy to, and Google must’ve grown jealous. Now it seems the company could be drawing inspiration from one of these for Android Auto.
As uncovered by our exclusive reporting, Android Auto may soon get home screen widget support, opening up a selection of phone widgets for display on car dashboards. Unlike the CarPlay equivalent, the nascent feature — still codenamed “Earth” — is very rough around the edges and has several limitations. In our tests, not every widget is supported, nor can you have more than one installed at any one time. Nevertheless, I can certainly see the potential, and as a fervent Android Auto user, I’m incredibly excited for what’s to come.
Ahead of the feature’s eventual debut, I want to look at three widgets I can’t wait to run on my car’s screen that would improve information availability on longer trips, allow me to access key shortcuts, and control items around my home from my vehicle.
Are you excited about widget support on Android Auto? 157 votes Yes, I am! 78 % No, I am not! 22 %
Fuelio: Quick Actions and Trip Control
Andy Walker / Android Authority
OK, I’m cheating a little since these are two different widgets from the same app, but bear with me.
Fuelio is essentially my massively underrated car management app. I use it to record refuelings and any cash I spend on my car, and find the nearest fuel stops when I’m in a pinch. It does a much better job of this than Google Maps, as it’s explicitly designed to focus on gas stations. It features several widgets, but two that would be thoroughly useful while on a trip are Quick Actions and Trip Control.
As its name suggests, Quick Actions offers a list of common shortcuts to features within the app. These include adding refueling details and expenses, recording a trip, setting reminders, and scanning slips. All these features (bar the final option, which is locked behind the premium edition) are very useful to me, and I’d love to have them readily available on my car’s dashboard.
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