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Spotify unveiled a fully native in-car app built directly on Google's Android Automotive operating system, debuting in Audi vehicles including the A6 e-tron, Q6 e-tron, A5, Q5, and A6. The app runs on the car's own infotainment hardware without needing a connected phone, Bluetooth, or aux cable, and Spotify now controls the entire on-screen interface rather than relying on Google's templates.
Google announced a redesigned Play Store interface for vehicles with Google built-in, which will adapt to different car screen sizes and orientations and add a streamlined navigation menu. The update, rolling out over coming weeks, lets drivers download featured apps with one tap and introduces new apps like Starz, Firefox, Ludo King, and JioHotstar for use while parked, plus YouTube video playback when parked for Premium subscribers.
Google has replaced Google Assistant with Gemini in its Google Built-in infotainment platform, now live across sixteen car brands. New features include AI-enhanced Google Maps with real-time traffic and EV routing, voice control over messages and email, playlist creation, food ordering, and a camera-enabled Gemini Live mode for discussing surroundings. The rollout began earlier this summer with Android Auto before expanding to automakers including Honda, Chevrolet and Volvo.
Hyundai has begun sales of the Ioniq 3 in the UK, with prices beginning at approximately $25,000 after government incentives. The vehicle offers two trims, with the base model featuring a 42 kWh battery and a 213-mile range, while the top-tier N-Line Evo includes a 61 kWh battery and up to 308 miles of range. It is built on a 400V platform and supports fast charging, and introduces Hyundai’s new Pleos Connect infotainment system based on Android Automotive OS.
Google has made the games category for Android Auto and Android Automotive OS generally available, ending its beta phase. Developers can now publish compatible titles directly through Google Play's open testing and production tracks, rather than relying on early-access programs.
Volvo has unveiled updated versions of its XC60 and three-row XC90 SUVs, featuring subtle exterior tweaks like reworked Thor's Hammer headlights with hidden matrix LED projectors and a slimmer front grille. The bigger change is under the skin: a significantly larger lithium-ion battery pack for the plug-in hybrid T8 powertrain, which Volvo says more than doubles real-world electric-only range compared to the current model. Both SUVs also gain a new 11.2-inch infotainment system running Google's Gemini assistant for conversational voice control.
Volvo has updated the interior of its XC40 and EX40 models with a bigger 11.2-inch touchscreen, up from 9 inches, mounted atop the dashboard rather than recessed into it. The updated software runs the latest Android Automotive build with Google's Gemini assistant, which can adjust vehicle settings, suggest restaurants with dietary details, and recommend scenic routes.
Honda's Prologue EV is essentially a rebadged Chevrolet Blazer EV, built on the same GM underpinnings but sold with a key difference: it retains Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, which GM stripped from its own EVs in favor of a Google-built Android Automotive OS. This near-identical pairing of vehicles, one with phone mirroring and one without, has effectively created an unplanned real-world test of how much consumers value that feature.
Android Auto mirrors a driver's phone onto a compatible car display for navigation, music, messaging, and apps, working over USB or wirelessly. Android Automotive OS, in contrast, runs natively on the vehicle's own hardware without requiring a connected phone at all.