With recent updates to Google Maps and Android Auto, Google has finally lifted an unbearable limitation with its maps app. As several users testify, it is now possible to launch the Google Maps mobile application on your smartphone and on Android Auto at the same time.
There are two camps in the car OS market: those who love Apple’s CarPlay or those who love Android Auto by Google. If every solution has its pros and cons, Android Auto has been imposing an unbearable limitation with Google Maps for years.
If Google Maps does indeed run on Android Auto, it was impossible to launch the service’s mobile application on his smartphone. If you try, you will only get an error message at the bottom of your screen. A really annoying limitation, since the Android Auto version of Google Maps offers significantly less features than its smartphone counterpart.
For example, the application displays a lot of additional data about your destinations, as well as your personalized routes, which the Android Auto version does not allow. However, several users of the Android Auto community on Reddit have noticed a change the latest Google Maps APK version 11.67.02.
Read also: Android Auto gets a weather app, but it is of no use for the time being
Google Maps can finally work on both Android Auto and smartphones
Now it is of course possible launch the full version of Google Maps on your smartphone when the Android Auto application is running. Our colleagues on site 9To5Google were able to confirm these changes on a Galaxy S23 Ultra after downloading the latest Maps APK. From now on, your passenger can assist you with the full version of Maps on your smartphone. Useful for example to consult turn-by-turn navigation or to find alternative routes while driving.
However, as users report, beware the experience is far from perfectly optimized. For some, opening the application on a smartphone is still buggy. For others, the route entered in the Android Auto version was not displayed in the Android app. However, it was enough to restart the app synchronize routes across both media. In fact, we can still wonder if this isn’t a bug in the latest Maps APK. We hope not, of course, and that Google has finally decided to lift this unbearable limitation of Google Maps with Android Auto.
