A new change in Android Auto is in development, with the buttons for the media player potentially being shuffled around which could impact muscle memory.
Typically with media players, buttons are laid out with the “back” button on the left, play/pause in the center, and skip forward on the right side. That’s how it is in Android Auto as well, but Google appears to be changing that.
In the latest Android Auto v14.4 beta, Google appears to be experimenting with a layout change to the media player buttons on the dashboard widget. The folks over at Android Authority enabled the new UI which places the play/pause button to the left side with the back and forward buttons after that. This is only shown on the dashboard widget, so it’s unclear if it also applies to the main media player UI. It is shown to happen across Spotify and YouTube Music, though.
While the placement is likely a little easier to reach, it would certainly ruin muscle memory for anyone actually using these buttons. Of course, many use steering wheel controls in the first place.
What do you think of this potential change?
More on Android Auto:
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- What Android Auto features are coming next?
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