3 widgets I can’t wait to try on Android Auto

Just this week, I was caught admiring the pretty features that CarPlay users are privy to, and Google must’ve grown jealous. Now it seems the company could be drawing inspiration from one of these for Android Auto.

As uncovered by our exclusive reporting, Android Auto may soon get home screen widget support, opening up a selection of phone widgets for display on car dashboards. Unlike the CarPlay equivalent, the nascent feature — still codenamed “Earth” — is very rough around the edges and has several limitations. In our tests, not every widget is supported, nor can you have more than one installed at any one time. Nevertheless, I can certainly see the potential, and as a fervent Android Auto user, I’m incredibly excited for what’s to come.

Ahead of the feature’s eventual debut, I want to look at three widgets I can’t wait to run on my car’s screen that would improve information availability on longer trips, allow me to access key shortcuts, and control items around my home from my vehicle.

OK, I’m cheating a little since these are two different widgets from the same app, but bear with me.

Fuelio is essentially my massively underrated car management app. I use it to record refuelings and any cash I spend on my car, and find the nearest fuel stops when I’m in a pinch. It does a much better job of this than Google Maps, as it’s explicitly designed to focus on gas stations. It features several widgets, but two that would be thoroughly useful while on a trip are Quick Actions and Trip Control.

As its name suggests, Quick Actions offers a list of common shortcuts to features within the app. These include adding refueling details and expenses, recording a trip, setting reminders, and scanning slips. All these features (bar the final option, which is locked behind the premium edition) are very useful to me, and I’d love to have them readily available on my car’s dashboard.

Trip Control focuses specifically on recording journeys. Although Fuelio has this compelling and useful feature, I often forget to use it because it’s buried in the Android Auto app. With this displayed front and center next to my mapping app of choice, I’d be more likely to use it and accurately record various long-distance journeys for later review.

Google Home is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it still holds a pretty important place in many households. Some use the platform to control smart lights, thermostats, gates, locks, and more. Having immediate access to these controls, especially when parked outside the drive, can be particularly useful.

For these users, Google Home’s Favorites widget would be a shoe-in for placement on Android Auto’s widget slot. One would have one-tap controls over their driveway gates, porch lights, Nest thermostat, and more. I often forget to switch off my lights when I’m already in the car, but with this widget sitting on my dash, all I need to do is tap, tap, tap to switch them off.

As it’s a Google-made widget, I’d expect it to work pretty well on Android Auto, too. Our tests show that the Pixel Weather app is currently best suited to the widget slot. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Google optimize its own wares sooner than other developers.

Finally, how would you feel about an Android Auto widget you created specifically for your car? That’s what KWGT could afford you. This is one of my favorite Android apps ever, and should it support Android Auto, it would likely be a firm favorite for that solo widget spot in my car.

KWGT allows users to create their own widgets, and the options are almost limitless. From the font type and size to the colors, backgrounds, information on display, and scale itself, everything can be tweaked in a KWGT widget.

For my Android Auto purposes, I can easily imagine creating an everything widget that shows the current time and seconds, the current weather conditions, sunset and sunrise times, and the current song. If designed correctly, this wouldn’t be distracting; instead, it would disseminate just the right amount of information in a tasteful, useful manner. Best of all, if the correct Google fonts, colorways, and padding are used, it could resemble an integrated widget designed by the company. I’ve already made my own dream Google widget for my phone.

We’ve already tested KWGT on Android Auto, and it works well with several built-in custom designs that are already available. KWGT in my car is by far the most exciting prospect for me.

There are many other Android widgets I cannot wait to try on Android Auto, but now it’s your turn. Is there a widget you use on your phone that would fit the car well? Are you excited about Android Auto’s widget feature? Let us know in the comments below.