Although most cars today have an integrated navigation system, many people use Google Maps while driving – especially if the car supports Android Auto. Now, a small but significant improvement has apparently been introduced for the popular app.
Android Auto: Centering the Map in Google Maps
A user named steelbreeze9 recently posted on Reddit, reporting that the map’s vehicle icon on the Google Maps display for Android Auto has been centered. It’s not specified whether this was triggered by a recent software update or happened automatically.
Strictly speaking, the feature is not entirely new, as Android Authority reports. Back in January 2025, the map in the navigation app was centered. This came after previously being right-aligned. Unfortunately, this change also led to the suggested destinations menu covering a large part of the user interface, which created significant restrictions and criticism from Android Auto users.
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Feature Could Now Find More Positive Reception
Due to the problem just described, the change was reverted after a short time and the original alignment of Google Maps for Android Auto was restored. This time around, Google seems to have learned from the mistake and removed the destination menu from the centered map view completely. For steelbreeze9, this is a clear visual upgrade, saying that “it looks great!”
At the same time, the Reddit user adds that centering does not always work perfectly when starting navigation. In case of a malfunction, they were able to activate it manually, “I’ve managed to manually bring it back by tapping on the three pane button and then tapping on Maps (screen, not the icon), that’s when Maps got centered”. Regardless, it can be concluded that the improvement of the feature could lead to positive feedback from many Android Auto users.
Sources: Android Authority, Reddit/@steelbreeze9
This article was originally published on futurezone.de / 4P.de and has been carefully translated.