Google Announces Surprise Android Auto Update as Major New Features Are Coming

The new version of Android Auto that users can download today is 6.6.1122, while the previous update that landed on May 28 was 6.5.1119. Android Auto 6.5 was the second update that got to see daylight in May after version 6.4 published earlier the same month.

So what’s new in Android Auto 6.6? If you’ve been using the app for a while, you probably know already that Google doesn’t provide any changelog for the Android Auto updates that it ships, unless there’s something truly big, in which case Google “celebrates” with an official announcement published on its blog.

But otherwise, Android Auto updates come without a changelog, letting users who install them figure out on their own what’s been improved.

On the other hand, we already know that several new Android Auto features are in the works, and there’s a chance this update paves the way for their introduction in addition to introducing a series of bug fixes and optimizations.

For example, Google announced at I/O 2021 in May that Android Auto would support Fast Pair in some cars, which means users would need just a single tap to pair their Android smartphones with head units in their vehicles. Setting up Android Auto will therefore be a lot more straightforward and will require minimal configuration on our side.

Furthermore, it’s been discovered that Google might also be working on an Android Auto connection troubleshooter for those still relying on the wired mode. In other words, the troubleshooter will help users deal with problems encountered when launching Android Auto with a cable, even being able to detect a bad cord. No ETA has been provided, however, as to when the troubleshooter could land.