The most anticipated Android Auto upgrade in a very long time, Coolwalk, has finally been made available to testers signed up for Google’s beta program following a quiet delay earlier this year.
However, the deployment is dependent on two different criteria even though so many people are eager to download the most recent beta in order to try out Coolwalk today.
To begin with, it appears that only customers who have signed up for the Android Auto beta program are actually receiving Coolwalk. Additionally, as Google employs a server-side update to progressively make the new functionality available to testers, even not being a part of the program ensures that Coolwalk is available.
The “new” version of Coolwalk has many more improvements than the one that was first revealed at I/O earlier this year.
The status area has undergone the most significant makeover. Along with the standard icons (current time and battery life of the phone), the “taskbar” now features a new notification counter that takes the place of the bell symbol that was previously included in Android Auto. Similar to how the bell icon functioned in the past, tapping the new notification count allows you to see more details.
The strip now shows three vertically arranged icons and four portrait-oriented icons. The navigation app comes first, then the music service, calls, and messaging.
Similar to the original Coolwalk, the card-based user interface is organized into sections, but now everything feels more professional. Music apps display album artwork in addition to media controls; a seeking bar will be added in a subsequent release.
The navigation card has the most screen real estate and can change its size and mode depending on the display. For instance, it can shrink to make room for other cards, such as the music app, on wide-resolution screens and large displays when in portrait mode.
Overall, Coolwalk has been designed such that it precisely adjusts to the size of the display in your car. Everything you see on the screen is as dynamic as it gets, with the navigation app constantly taking precedence.
