Companies as large as Google have to do a lot of testing before pushing changes to production, although sometimes things can still go very, very wrong. One way that Google and other companies test new features is by running a public beta tester program. Through these programs, companies enlist the help of ordinary users like you and me to try new features before they’re released to the general public. Google runs a number of beta tester programs for its Android apps, and today, the company has opened up a beta for the Android Auto app.
As more and more car makers add Android Auto support to their in-vehicle infotainment systems, Google needs users to test the latest features and offer feedback on any issues or bugs they discover. It’s obviously impossible for Google to test Android Auto with every single phone and head unit combination on the market, so it makes sense for them to ask users for help. Just note that if you enlist in the program, you may deal with bugs and broken features, which could lead to a frustrating experience on the road.
Android Auto is preinstalled on all Android phones running Android 10 or later, but updates are pushed to the app through the Google Play Store. Beta updates will also be pushed through Google Play, but you’ll first need to opt-in to the testing program by clicking this link and signing into the Google account you want to enlist in the program. If you decide you want to leave the beta program, all you have to do is uninstall the beta version and then install the latest public stable release from Google Play. If you’d rather not wait either way, you can always sideload the latest beta or stable release from third-party APK hosting sites like APKMirror. Alternatively, you can just follow XDA’s coverage of Android Auto to find out what’s new in the latest release or what’s coming to a future release.
Android Auto (Free, Google Play) →
Featured image credits: Google
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