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Modern life is about having all the information you need at your fingertips, and driving is no different. 

While modern infotainment systems largely cover a lot of bases in this respect, they're not quite as connected to your mobile phone as you might like. 

That’s why so many drivers use smartphone mirroring systems, such as Android Auto. 

An alternative to Apple CarPlay for those with a Google-based phone from makers such as Google, Samsung and Sony, Android Auto gives quick and easy access to a host of applications to keep you connected. 

As car makers develop increasingly convoluted infotainment systems, it's even got to the point where many drivers prefer mirroring services like Android Auto over the standard operating system (OS) fitted to their cars.

It's no surprise that around 150 million cars worldwide now have Android Auto installed.

But what exactly is Android Auto, what services does it offer, and how can you access it? We've put together this comprehensive guide with all the information you need to know. 

What is Android Auto?

Android Auto is a car-based driving companion created by Google to bring all the convenience of your phone directly to your car’s dashboard.

It was initially introduced to improve safety while driving, but there’s a lot you can do with it. It’s a service that lets you connect your Android phone to the car's infotainment system to display sat-nav apps, legally take phone calls, reply to messages and play audio. 

These functions are accessed via large icons on your car's infotainment screen and through voice commands. Google says it intends the software to reduce your levels of distraction as much as possible, so the icons should be easy to reach when you're driving. 

Android Auto is accessible, too. It’s free of charge for one, and it streamlines your car’s interface with hands-free voice commands, large, easy-to-read icons and integration with some of the mobile world’s most popular apps, including Google Maps, Waze and Spotify. 

Android Auto in 2025

It looks like Android Auto will gain several updates in 2025, with the first major update already rolling out to some vehicles and devices. 

One of the biggest upgrades will come to the user interface, bringing stronger integration of your vehicle's own systems. For instance, you will be able to control the radio directly through Android Auto, instead of swapping back to your vehicle's own infotainment system.

Android Auto will also add some new apps for improved media playback, such as video streaming via programs such as YouTube, Netflix and TikTok, while web browsing will also be implemented. 

We're not quite sure when these updates will be fully implemented, but expect them to begin rolling out later this year. 

How to connect to Android Auto

If you have an Android phone (one developed by a company such as Samsung, OnePlus, Huawei, Nokia, Sony or Google), Android Auto will come pre-installed on your phone if it's operating on Android 10 or above. It’s also free to install on the Google Play Store. 

There are two ways of doing this: via USB connection or wirelessly. Firstly, ensure your car is compatible with Android Auto. You can consult Android's guide to every car compatible with the system here. 

Using USB

If you're using a USB connection, make sure your phone is in range of your mobile data network and plug the USB into your car's port and your phone. The port can be either a USB-A (rectangular) or a USB-C (oval) connector.

Instructions will then appear on your car's infotainment screen; follow those steps to continue. You don’t need a Bluetooth connection if you’re using this method.

Wireless

Some newer cars offer a wireless Android Auto connection too, through Bluetooth or a wi-fi connection. In these, you should go into the infotainment system to set up your phone connection.

Once you’ve got them paired up, both your car and your phone will ask if you want to allow permission to use Android Auto. Select yes, and away you go.

If you're unsure of your car’s method of connection, have a quick look at the car's manual.

Is my phone compatible?

There are a few caveats to this one but stick with us. To connect your phone to Android Auto using a USB cable, it has to be running on Android 8 or higher and have an active data plan.

If you want to connect it wirelessly to the infotainment system and you have an Android phone that isn't made by Samsung or Google, make sure it’s running on Android 11 or later. 

Samsung or Google phones can use Android 10 or later, while Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ and Note 8 models work with Android 9 or later.

Remember that all phones require an active data plan and 5GHz wi-fi support. Most phones have the latter, but if you're experiencing connection issues, it may be down to this.

What are the main features of Android Auto?

From navigation to music, Android Auto has a host of accessible features. You can make phone calls using your infotainment system, have messages read out to you and even look for chargers for your electric car. 

Several companies have developed apps that are compatible with Android Auto. See our list of our favourite Android Auto apps below: 

Amazon Music - An alternative to Spotify for your favourite tunes.

Audible - Amazon’s app for audiobook playback.

Facebook Messenger - Reply to messages sent to your Facebook account through voice-to-text.

Google Maps - Google’s own navigation app.

ZapMap - Locate an EV charging station quickly using this app, which lists chargers by maximum charging speed. It also tells you if they’re in use or out of order. 

Spotify - A popular music and podcast app.

WhatsApp - You're able to hear messages you’ve been sent and send messages, or place and receive phone calls, via voice control.

Waze - A third-party navigation app with several useful features, such as incident reporting, police car warnings and more.

How much does Android Auto cost?

Android Auto is free to use and the app is free to download to your phone. However, you may be subject to some data charges if they’re not already included on your mobile phone plan. 

Some manufacturers include Android Auto on higher trim levels only, or as an optional extra on entry-level models; but it’s becoming increasingly common for brands to include it as standard, along with Apple CarPlay. 

Pros of Android Auto

There are several benefits to using Android Auto - and it’s often down to the software that comes with your car. 

In fact, many drivers believe Android Auto’s Google Maps integration is more intuitive, accurate and useful than pre-installed sat-nav systems.

Google often updates Android Auto, with the latest round adding artificial intelligence (AI) that can summarise messages, read them out to you and reply on your behalf.

It’s very handy to have all of your favourite apps at your fingertips when you’re on the move, and voice integration in apps like WhatsApp are useful for staying in contact with your friends and family during long journeys. 

Android Auto’s wide selection of apps is also a plus, meaning you can stick to your preferred music or podcast app of choice. 

And, if we’re honest, it often looks better than many of the infotainment software systems from some car brands today.

Cons of Android Auto

While Android Auto might seem like the ideal solution for most phone users, it’s not for everybody. 

The ultimate negative of the system is that it can only be used with an Android phone, so it’s not accessible to every driver. 

You also need to keep an eye on your data usage with Android Auto, as apps such as Spotify, Amazon Music, or Audible can sap your data allowance if you’re not set to a specific offline mode. 

Plus, if you don’t have the right cable or your car can’t offer wireless connectivity, you might not be able to connect to Android Auto at all.

If you’re not a fan of touchscreens, you might want to avoid Android Auto, too, as most functions are controlled via your car’s infotainment system.

R50. Y-reg. Preferably with a plate ending in ‘OBL’. Eh? To decode, the R50 is the codename of the original BMW Mini, co-developed with Rover. 

Y-reg is a car from 2001. And if its registration number ends with ‘OBL’, then it was very likely owned by BMW and used as a demonstrator, a press car or a promotional vehicle. 

In classic car collecting circles that gives it provenance, even if it means that this Mini may well carry some of early bugs exorcised in later models, such as front seat backrest mechanisms that fight back, a rattling accompaniment to your journey and, as the cars age, oil leaks too.

But there are some desirable items too, just as there were with the original Mini. The early, 1959-built examples of these are coveted as much for their age as an assortment of features soon modified in production, such as the addition of drain holes in the roof gutter, two-piece road wheels welded rather than riveted together and hubcaps with differently shaped ventilation cut-outs.

Those who revel in such pedantic details (who, me?) will be delighted to hear that there are similarly arcane variations peculiar only to the very earliest of R50s too. One is the longitudinal indentations moulded into the seats, a design flourish soon considered unnecessary.

Another is the embossing of the pedals with an ‘M’. The upshot is that there is now a register for these Y-registration Minis, and a website detailing the differences is apparently on the way too. I won’t be looking at that, of course.

Now you may be healthily unbothered by such collectors’ trivia, and simply like the idea of an early new-generation Mini. And why not? These cheerfully individual cars can now be had for under £1000 with an MoT, although they will likely have covered six-figure distances. 

But they seem to be pretty durable too, making a 100k-plus odometer reading something to be less fearful of than it once was. That said, noisy gearboxes are a potentially expensive hazard. One reason why these Minis wear well is that they are not your average supermini. This was the first premium supermini (Lancia’s Ypsilon is a city car, in case you’re about to finger-punch a keyboard), and the quality ran more than skin-deep. 

Although BMW’s 2000 sale of Rover prompted a Viking-expunging rewrite of corporate history, development of the R50 Mini was largely a Rover-led project, to a BMW brief and with full-fat BMW funding. That allowed quality to penetrate to the core, from the super-stiff bodyshell to suspension that included BMW’s advanced Z-axle.

The Chrysler-sourced Tritec engine was less impressive, but it’s gratifyingly tough. More obviously striking was an interior furnished to standards far higher than you’d find aboard a Ford Fiesta or Renault Clio. And in rather startling style, too. The dashboard was dominated by an enormous speedometer that didn’t so much pay homage to the original ’59 Mini as prostrate itself before its memory in spasms of self-flagellation. 

There were many more references besides, from the shape of the interior light to the toggle switches to the flashing light at the tip of the indicator stalk. The exterior was still more recognisably Mini, even if this reimagined economy car had swollen substantially without offering a lot more space inside. 

The floating roof, the wheel-at-each corner stance, the short overhangs, vertical taillights, big headlights and trapezoidal grille all referenced the original, as did the faux chrome bumperettes and the cutline of the expensive clamshell bonnet.

And its just-so proportions are only highlighted by the ant-eater nose of an overhang disfiguring the current version, fine drive though that car is. All these things, and all those Chili, Salt and Pepper option varieties, made the R50 Mini hugely desirable then, and make it so now. It’s a car so much more interesting than a used Vauxhall Corsa or Volkswagen Polo. Expect it to outlive them.

This column first appeared as an email to subscribers in 2017.

Next year’s Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will retain the same 10 events next year but it will undergo a minor reshuffle because of football's FIFA World Cup.

The 2026 calendar for Britain’s leading motorsport championship has been revealed less than a week after the season-opening event for the 2025 season, held at Donington Park.

The Derbyshire circuit will again host the first round of the season in 2026, followed by trips to Brands Hatch and Snetterton.

The calendar will then undergo a minor shuffle, with the BTCC’s traditional summer break being brought forward from July to June. This is to account for UK television partner ITV4’s commitment to screening FIFA World Cup games during that period.

As a result, Oulton Park retains its traditional June date but becomes the fourth event of the season, with the visit to the high-speed Thruxton circuit moving to late July.

The Autocar-backed championship then visits Knockhill, the Donington Park Grand Prix circuit, Croft and Silverstone before again concluding on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on 10/11 October.

BTCC boss Alan Gow said: “It is a very busy summer in the sporting calendar, particularly with the football World Cup, which presents ITV with some clashing commitments. However, it also gave us an opportunity to make some tweaks to the schedule, which includes the shift in dates to the likes of Thruxton and Croft.

“Once again, releasing the calendar to our teams, support races, stakeholders and the public this early is advantageous for all in forward-planning, whilst it also benefits the rest of the motorsport pyramid in the UK as they can also schedule their events with these dates in mind.”

2026 British Touring Car Championship calendar

18-19 April Donington Park National

9-10 May Brands Hatch Indy

23-24 May Snetterton

6-7 June Oulton Park

25-26 July Thruxton

8-9 August Knockhill

22-23 August Donington Park Grand Prix

5-6 September Croft

26-27 September Silverstone

10/11 October Brands Hatch Grand Prix