Android Auto working on a feature to access and play local media stored in your car or USB drive

Android Auto is a great option to use while driving if you sport an Android phone. It basically brings apps from your smartphone to your car’s display, and thus helps you focus on the road (as you should) instead of getting distracted from your phone. You can use your car’s display for media playback and navigation thanks to Android Auto in a convenient way. Android Auto has loads of options for media playback, but it’s had an oversight for years that has remained unaddressed: you can’t play any local media connected to your car. Now, the folks at Android Authority have dug into the code of Android Auto’s most recent version and have found that maybe, this oversight will be fixed soon.

Basically, the issue is that if you have files stored locally on your car or on a USB drive connected to the car, Android Auto can’t access them or play them. In order to play that music, you need to quit Android Auto, switch back to your car’s entertainment system, and access them from there.

Recently, 9to5Google found out that Android Auto will get access to your car’s AM and FM controls soon. And now, we have Android Auto working on a feature for the app to play local car media.

The clues about the new feature in the works were spotted in Android Auto v12.8, and we have references about “car local media” hidden in the uncovered strings of code. Google has also added new service and icons for radio controls in the app, and will also add similar ones for local media playback.

It seems Google may roll out the ability to control AM and FM and the ability to access local media in one update. At this moment, it is not known when these two features will be implemented, and whether you will need to update your car’s head unit to be able to use them.

I personally find these updates especially useful. This may be a small thing, but it’s a quality-of-life update that should ensure you get a more enjoyable experience in your car. So, kudos to Google on refining things with Android Auto!