Android Auto: The Worst In-Car Interface I've Ever Used
Android Auto is an unmitigated disaster. There, I've said it. After experiencing the new interface for linking your smartphone to your vehicle's infotainment system (which is increasingly available across the industry) in the 2016 Kia Optima, I can honestly state that it's not something I'd ever want to use, and that its implementation leaves a lot to be desired from a user standpoint.
First of all, as soon as I plugged my Nexus 5 Android phone into the Optima's USB port - just to charge it - I was bombarded by pop-ups on my device associated with Android Auto. At first I didn't know what was going on: sometimes my phone's screen would display a big 'STOP' sign telling me I had to be in park, while others would implore me to download the Android Auto software and install it. At no point was I given the option to send these notifications away - they either wouldn't disappear, or would instantly come back a few seconds later. This is a terrible way to get someone to use your product, and it's extremely pushy on Google's part to assume I want them harassing my phone simply because I needed to top up the battery.
In the name of science I downloaded the app, whereupon two things happened. The first is that my phone automatically paired with the Optima's infotainment system over Bluetooth, without going through the typical permission and passcode steps one associates with a Bluetooth connection. That was strike two for me, but the real horror was still to come. Once installed, the previously-useful Kia infotainment system disappeared from the screen to be replaced by the Android Auto menu, which offered me the ability to listen to music, to use Google Maps, or to make phone calls.
I need to point out here: my driving partner and I were in the middle of a navigation route using the Kia's on-board touchscreen when all of this happened, yet Android Auto saw no problem with wiping out our ability to access the directions we needed. It didn't even transfer the route over to Google Maps as a courtesy. Also gone: access to the car's satellite radio system, or indeed, any of its infotainment functionality. Even worse, my phone was now bricked, meaning I had no access to ANY of my apps or phone's functionality, which was completely unacceptable.
Android Auto is simply awful. Why would I trade the full functionality of my phone, plus whatever built-in features in the car I am driving, for a limited subset of Google apps and third-party plug-ins that do whatever they feel like without asking my permission first? It's one of the worst software experiences I've had in a long time, in or out of an automobile.
