Google is hinting at some form of glasses integration with Android Auto through a new beta update, but there are some questions.
Android Auto 14.2 has just started rolling out in beta and while the update doesn’t seem to deliver any directly user-facing changes, the code behind-the-scenes hints at some potential updates coming in the future.
In our usual teardown of the latest update, we found strings that hint at a “default music provider” for Assistant (or, more likely, Gemini) and some continued work on swapping the word “car” for “vehicle,” which looks to extend to the phone screen pop-up that now tells you to “Continue setup on vehicle screen.”
The eye-catching strings in this version of Android Auto, though, discuss “Glasses.”
Specifically, there’s a new option titled “Glasses” and a string that mentions using “Glasses” with navigation.
- <string name=”GLASSES_OPTIONS_TITLE”>Glasses</string>
- <string name=”GLASSES_SETTING_TEXT”>Start navigation to launch Glasses</string>
This language is strange, though. “Start navigation to launch Glasses” seems to imply that “Glasses” is a feature of navigation, where one would rightly assume that this would have something to do with using some sort of glasses with navigation.
In a Hindi version of Android Auto 14.2 pulled by Android Authority, the translated version of this string reads “To view navigation on smart glasses, start navigation.” It’s still strange that the English version is so confusingly worded, but this gives us a slightly better idea of what Google has in mind.
With Android Auto’s purpose having always been to present information – whether that’s navigation, music, or messages – in a way that’s safer for drivers, smart glasses are certainly a logical next step, especially with Android XR products around the corner. Just this week, Google showed off its Android XR glasses prototype at an event, though there’s still no word on when these products will be hitting the market.
