Android Auto beta 15.6 introduces docked widget support

Google is prepping a major Android Auto overhaul, and the latest beta, version 15.6, has for the first time surfaced an experimental addition: widget support. It’s one of the platform’s most anticipated steps, nudging Android Auto closer to Apple CarPlay, where widgets arrived starting with iOS 26.

Google, however, is taking its own route. Instead of putting widgets on a separate screen, as Apple does, the company plans to dock them alongside Android Auto’s main panel, occupying roughly a third of the display. The idea is to cut the number of interactions behind the wheel and dial down distractions — a priority for any system tied to driving safety.

Internally known as Project Earth, the feature taps into widgets already installed on the user’s phone. A settings screen will list available widgets, letting drivers pick what they want and adjust its size. For now, the system supports a single active widget, though Google may broaden that later. Tests have already shown weather and calendar widgets in action, even if some still prompt you to open the corresponding app on the phone.

The key advantage is that developers may not need to update their apps for widgets to show up in Android Auto — the system can adapt them on its own. That could give Google an edge over CarPlay, where each widget has to be built individually.

The feature remains in early testing and is not enabled by default. Even so, Android Auto is steadily becoming more flexible and more personal, with an eye on outpacing rivals not just on convenience but on how tightly it meshes with the broader Android ecosystem.