Android Auto gains updated Material Theme icons when navigating in Google Maps

Damien Wilde | Jun 2 2020 - 5:07 am PT

The rollout of the newer Material Theme icons for Android Auto has been long overdue but is now here when using Google Maps navigation in your motor vehicle.

You might be wondering what the heck we are talking about, but as originally spotted by the guys over at Android Police, when navigating using Google Maps, you’ll now see the slightly newer wireframe style icons rather than the filled icons for menu items.

It’s hardly the biggest UI change, but it will make your entire experience that bit more cohesive, which is what the Material Theme design guidelines were introduced to help enhance. As noted by Android Police, when you get directions to a location and start your journey, you’ll see the newer Material Theme icons in the Google Maps shortcut bar.

These shortcut options allow you to dive directly into Settings, Route Overview, Search Along Route, and view Destinations without having to really think about it. There is also an added overflow menu that gives you the option to share your journey with a contact should they want to know your ETA.

We believe that avid Android Auto users should already be seeing the updated wireframe Material Theme icons already, as this appears to have had a relatively silent rollout across the board. It’s also worth noting that this doesn’t require a software update or an app upgrade, it looks as though this has come server-side, so you shouldn’t have to do anything to get the very minor visual improvement.

Will the new icons change how you use Android Auto? Probably not, but it’s visual cohesion that really rounds off the in-car entertainment system.