Android Auto will soon make your road trips more fun with games

Android Auto has gotten some interesting additions over the last one month including custom shortcuts, interchangeable wallpapers and the return of the Google Assistant routines. But there’s more coming in. As an Android Auto user, you will soon be able to play voice-controlled Google Assistant games on the go. Also incoming is better support for extra-wide screens and a Privacy Screen that will control how much Android Auto shows.

For starters, all those long drives, through traffic or otherwise, are going to potentially get a little interesting with these games acting as diversions. You just need to give the command of “play a game” and Google Assistant games will be available directly through Android Auto - that’s one way to keep people occupied.

There isn’t a long list of games to pick from but you can take your pick from any game that is already available through the Google Assistant on your phone like Jeopardy or Trivia Crack.

You don’t need to touch the screen for any of these games, obviously. However, the game keeps a window active at the lower portion of the screen and that obstructs navigation in a way. However, if the chances are that you find the games distracting, it’s best not to play them at all.

Also, if your car has an extra-wide screen, Android Auto will not be able to make better use of all that real estate. There’s a new screen layout coming in that will split up the available space to allow music controls and navigation to be visible at the same time and you no longer have to switch between them.

The new Privacy Screen feature that’s getting added to Android Auto will keep it from launching/coming on unless your phone is unlocked. This will prevent people from snooping through any private information that can appear on the screen like saved places on Maps or call history.

Google is gradually rolling these features out over the next few days so you might just have to wait your turn.