Google is working on improving the Android Auto experience on electric vehicles (EVs) that come with support for Android Auto — wired or wireless. The company has silently added a couple of EV-centric features to Google Map on Android Auto.
9to5Google has reported that the company has added the option for users to manually choose if they have an electric vehicle and enable EV-centric features in Google Maps on Android Auto via the new “EV Settings” option.
The changes have been found in the latest APK decompilation which reveals a new option termed as EV. Here are the strings:
Register as EV
Engine type (car)
Apart from this the update is also expected to add several other features such as the ability to select which type of charging connector the vehicle supports. Users have the option to choose the type of connector from J1772, CCS (Combo 1 and 2), Type 2, and CHAdeMO.
Surprisingly, the North American Charging Standard (NACS), developed by Tesla is missing from the list. We expect that Google may add this charging standard via future updates.
Here are the codes found in the latest APK insight:
EV Connector Types
Your plugs
J1772
CCS (Combo {0})
Apart from that, the APK decompilation also revealed some strings related to battery meters which suggest that users may be able to use this to see the charge levels within the Android Auto interface. We currently have no idea how this feature will be implemented and how it will work.
Features are found in Android Auto version 9.9
The feature has been found within the Android Auto version 9.9 and the features are now reflecting to some EV users.