7 Android Auto tweaks to boost driving functionality

Android Auto offers customization options to make it your own, from appearance to operation and notifications. Here are seven ways to fine-tune Android Auto. Android Auto is one of the easiest ways to make your car smarter, but you might not realize the platform offers customization options to make it your own.

Whether it's the system's appearance, changes to how it operates, or the notifications it sends, you can fine-tune Android Auto to your specific needs in several ways, making it even more useful. Tired of seeing apps you never use in Android Auto? You can delete ones you don't want and prioritize the ones you do, so you don't have to scroll every time to find them.

Head to Settings, search for Android Auto, and look for Customize Launcher. You'll have the option to check or uncheck the apps you want to appear, or set a custom order rather than alphabetical order. I generally like dark mode on all my phone apps, and it's the first option I look for when I download a new tool.

Usually, Android Auto sets to day or night mode depending on the time of day, ambient lighting in your car, or even your headlights. If you prefer one way, you can toggle Android Auto's day/night mode. You can pick either day or night all the time, or choose "Phone controlled," which follows your phone's settings.

ZDNET's Maria Diaz took a deep dive into what might be the most useful customization in Android Auto: routines and shortcuts. You can also add a shortcut to your launcher to call a contact or run a Gemini command, which means you can do just about anything. You can set a shortcut to send a text to someone that you're heading home from work, and turn your thermostat down as you near the house.

You can even combine these steps so that a "leaving home" shortcut, for example, runs the robot vacuum, turns up the thermostat, locks doors, and turns off all the lights. Android Auto gives you a surprising level of control over how you're notified about messages. You can turn text notifications on or off.

However, you can also choose if you want to hide or show group conversations, show the first line of a message or not, whether a chime plays, whether Gemini can see your messages, and if you want Gemini to summarize long messages. Head to settings in the Android Auto app, and you'll see an "Advanced" section that lets you toggle whether you want media closer to you or for navigation. By default, navigation media controls are on the driver's side, but you can move them closer if you use that setup more often.

If you're bored with the stock geometric background on your screen, you can make Android Auto feel more like an extension of your phone. This setting might be in your phone under the Display section of Android Auto settings, or in the Android Auto settings on your car's screen. Either way, when you toggle the setting on, it will instantly grab your phone's home screen background and set it as the backdrop for your car's app grid.