The 15 Best Android Auto Apps of 2023

Waze

The super-popular, Google-owned Waze navigation app is extremely useful for up-to-the-minute information on things like traffic jams and crashes and vital details to know if you want to stay safe and save time on the road.

How it works is what makes it so useful. See What Is Waze and How Does It Work? for all the details. In short, all of its millions of users become reporters who can send updates to the map when they see a traffic jam, police officer, crash, or hazard. These updates are reflected right there on your vehicle's display.

It's also just as easy for you to report those things so other users can benefit. There are large buttons on the screen you can tap to say that you see a hazard in the road, for example.

Of course, Waze also works as a normal navigation app. Directions home or to work are just a tap away, and there are also categories for finding parking, gas (including gas prices at some locations), shopping, coffee, drive-thru restaurants, and pharmacies with just a few taps.

A phone number is displayed for some businesses, as are their on-site services. This means you can easily see if a nearby business has things like restrooms, parking, or air conditioning.

We also like what you can do in the settings. You can set up the app to avoid toll roads, ferries, and freeways. You can also make it so Waze doesn't take you down unpaved roads, or if you don't mind some, you can set it up only to permit short unpaved roads. Another toggle helps avoid difficult intersections, so you're not struggling in new places.

Here are some other things we like: Your speed is always displayed on the map, so you can keep that in check while using the app, alternative routes are available, and you can quickly turn the sound off or enable just alerts.

Google Maps

Yes, we just mentioned a navigation app owned by Google, but you can't go wrong with having Google Maps in your car, too. We list this one because it tends to run a bit smoother than Waze, and satellite view and live location sharing are missing in Waze, but are nice features to have.

Much like Waze, Google Maps lets you view traffic, avoid tolls and highways, choose different routes, search for recently viewed places, and browse categories to find things like hotels and restaurants quickly.

However, you can also switch to a satellite view if you prefer to see high-res images of your surroundings and not just typical map-style roads and colors; plus, it can help navigate some areas. We also love that you can share your journey with contacts directly from your vehicle to keep them informed about where you are throughout the trip.

Facebook Messenger

If you like using Facebook Messenger, you'll be happy to learn that you can get notified about new messages while driving through Android Auto. Pulling out your phone is unnecessary because you can listen to new messages and respond with your voice.

Tap any message sent during your trip, and it'll be read to you. You can see who sent you the message, but you won't see any text, images, or other items when you tap the conversation for safety reasons. You will, however, be told if an image was sent so you can remember to look at it later from your phone.

Spotify

Android Auto has many music-related apps, but you can't go wrong with Spotify. This app serves music and podcasts to over half a billion monthly users; you can read more about it in our Spotify review.

So why is it useful as an Android Auto app? We think it's good to have Spotify connected to your head unit for two reasons: Your recently played items are just a tap away, and millions upon millions of songs are available for streaming.

You can browse by podcast, audiobook, music genres, and moods. Since you'll be driving while you listen, it's awesome that all your podcasts, shows, and playlists from your account are so easily accessible. Plus, you can 'favorite' items on the screen that you want to be added to your favorites in the app—it's a great way to avoid reaching for your phone to save a track for later.

Spotify is free for the most part, but you can subscribe to Spotify Premium if you want offline playback, no ads, and the freedom to play and skip any song.

TuneIn Radio

TuneIn Radio is a beast of an app. You can listen to tens of thousands of radio stations, both local ones, and stations from over 190 other countries. There are also sports, news, music, and podcasts. The app lets you browse music stations by genre, and if you make favorites in the app, you can access those easily while driving.

If you'd rather not use Android Auto, TuneIn Radio also has a viewing format made specifically for people who are driving. Just mount your phone and press the vehicle button to be shown several large buttons that give you quick access to favorites, voice search, and recommended stations.

Scanner Radio

Scanner Radio lets you stream live audio from thousands of fire and police scanners, weather radio stations, ham radio repeaters, air traffic, and marine radios. The Android Auto app lets you access your favorite scanners, view the top 10 list of scanners, and access nearby scanners. You can easily see where the scanner is located and how many people are listening. The player is really simple, with just a pause and play button.

CloudPlayer

If you like to carry your music offline, CloudPlayer can be a great addition to your other Android Auto apps. It provides a handy player for your downloaded songs and lets you stream the music stored on Dropbox or OneDrive.

This app also supports radio, music, and sports stations that you can browse by location or language. Genre, album, and artist browsing is also supported, and the app gathers all your recently added, most played, and top-rated music for easy access to your favorites while driving.

LibriVox

LibriVox puts tens of thousands of completely free audiobooks at your fingertips. Android Auto integration is awesome because driving is one of the rare times some of us have to consume long books.

This app is incredibly simple, giving you all you need at a glance so you can still focus on driving.

Weather & Radar

You might find yourself frequently checking the weather if you're driving, especially if you want to avoid driving into a storm. This app lets you take a quick look at the radar in your in-car display.

Radar is something most other Android Auto weather apps don't provide. Weather & Radar doesn't do it perfectly, but it does work. You can zoom in and out to see more or less of the map. It also shows the current temperature in every city.

Weather (Google)

While the above weather app shows you where the storm is, Google's weather app is an excellent choice for the full day's forecast. We like it because it's just audio. It tells you what the weather is right now and what the rest of the day looks like. Just press one button to hear it all.

Google Play Books

If you're a Google Play Books fan with audiobooks stored in your Google account, the best way to listen to those titles with Android Auto is with Google's app.

There's not much to this app, but it is useful on the road. You can speed up playback to as much as 3x, skip backward or forward by 30 seconds, and bookmark a place in the book with just one tap.

NPR One

We like the NPR One Android Auto app because it lets you stream local news while you drive. You can also access podcasts. The player is incredibly simple, with a button that lets you repeat the last 15 seconds to replay something you might have missed.

ChargePoint

ChargePoint is a lifesaver if you have an EV you need to charge away from home. It lets you see which charging stations are available at any moment on a map. If you don't know, ChargePoint runs the world’s largest network of electric vehicle charging stations.

This Android Auto app lets you find nearby stations without having to log in, or if you do have an account, you can quickly access your favorite spots and recently visited chargers.

You can filter stations by DC Fast, Available, and Free. Once you find one you like, you can view the price estimate and other details like available connectors. Then, you can start navigating there with a compatible app, like Google Maps.

SoundCloud

Check out our SoundCloud review for reasons you'll like this free music streaming app. It's dubbed "the world’s largest music discovery platform" for good reason. It's a gold mine of a wide range of awesome music.

There are just three tabs along the top of the Android Auto app, so your feed and playlists are easy to get to. Like the mobile app, the in-vehicle app also provides a personal mix made just for you, Daily Drops, and SoundCloud Weekly.

The Library tab is where you'll find all your liked tracks, playlists, albums, stations, downloads, and listening history. The player supports scrubbing and has a button for adding any track to your "Liked" list.