I installed 10 Android Auto apps for a long road trip, but only 4 were genuinely useful
Android Police 2026-06-20 13:30:10
Context: A technology analyst and writer, Parth Shah, recently embarked on an eight-hour road trip to test the functionality of 10 Android Auto apps he had installed to ensure a smooth journey. The experiment aimed to determine which apps were genuinely useful and which ones were redundant. Shah's experience revealed that only four apps proved to be essential during his trip.
Key Facts
- Parth Shah installed 10 Android Auto apps before his road trip, expecting them to be useful, but found that he only relied on four apps for navigation, entertainment, communication, and practical assistance.
- Google Maps was the most useful app, providing turn-by-turn navigation, traffic updates, suggested alternative routes, ETAs, and information on fuel stations, restaurants, and other stops, with the added benefit of Gemini integration for natural language commands.
- YouTube Music was another essential app, offering a wide range of audio content, including playlists, podcasts, and local audio files, with Gemini integration allowing for voice-controlled music playback using natural language.
- WhatsApp was Shah's preferred communication app during the trip, enabling him to hear incoming messages, send new ones, reply to conversations, and place calls hands-free, with Gemini integration making the process feel more natural.
- Fuelio, an app for tracking fuel consumption and expenses, proved to be one of the most useful apps, allowing Shah to log odometer readings, fuel consumption, and expenses, and calculate his average fuel economy and cost per kilometer.