Android Auto 13.3 update prepares support for radio stations

Google is rolling out another new Android Auto update and this one further prepares for a new form of media control, including a bunch of different radio stations.

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

Over the past few months, Google has been working behind the scenes on a new feature for Android Auto that relates to local media on your vehicle. This “Car Media” app might be able to leverage locally-stored information, but also appears to tie into radio stations as we were first to report in July.

Through further updates in September and October, Google has continued to work on this functionality, but it has yet to actually launch.

Now, the latest Android Auto 13.3 update is rolling out in beta, and there’s still no sign of radio or “Car Media” functionality when using the platform. Behind the scenes, though, preparations continue.

In this latest update we’ve spotted Google listing out various music genres and radio station categories in direct reference to “radio.” The list of genres and categories follows.

We’d speculate that these categories might appear within this “Car Media” app Google has been working on, allowing users to filter radio stations by genre/category. However, it is more likely that these are placeholders for radio station data. Most infotainment systems will show the genre of a radio station, or even the specific song/segment, while tuned into a particular station. This would likely be considerably easier for Android Auto to leverage.

These icons are being prepared for Android Auto’s radio and local media features

It’s still largely unclear when Google plans to launch this feature, and it’s equally a mystery as to how this will actually work as one would imagine this would require some form of deeper integration with the vehicle’s infotainment system. Google has been pushing for that, though, recently debuting new EV features with Ford that can pull data regarding the battery and more and use that information for Google Maps.

More on Android Auto:

• Original AAWireless is no longer available as AAWireless TWO gets fresh restock
• Samsung’s latest Galaxy update might break Android Auto – how to fix it
• Android Auto stops working on older phones

Follow Ben: Twitter/X, Threads, and Instagram

Thanks to JEB Decompiler, from which some APK Insight teardowns benefit.