Yes, the redesign is bad. But have you tried using Android Auto without it crashing?

Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot, as the one and only Charlie Chaplin once said. That's how I feel about the latest Android Auto update that got so many people agitated:

• Android Auto's new look is here, but not everyone's on board

"Not everyone's on board" is the politically correct way to describe emotions over at the "Horrible UI redesign" Reddit thread at the Android Auto subreddit (hence the AA abbreviation).

But how much of a tragedy are we speaking about here? What has changed so drastically that got people fuming with anger? As it turns out, it's just a design touch-up that changes the following when listening to music:

• A gray background now replaces the sampling of the album art
• The seekbar is relocated and looks shorter than before

Which results in a display with way too much empty space, small, unpractical playback buttons and a dull background – that's what people who don't like it say about it.

And, quite honestly, they're not lying.

Siding with the people on this one

That may be just me, but I think that when you're driving, it's great to have your eyes on the road ahead, behind and sideways simultaneously. It's great to be alive, let's keep it that way. That being said, it's of vital importance to me to listen to music while driving. Now, how do we combine driving safely (with eyes exclusively on the road) and the option to play, pause and change tracks at the same time?

But, of course, by all means – let's have as much dead space on the media player screen! Why bother putting large, easy to operate buttons? What's more, why not change the way things look – and not for any practical reason, but just out of curiosity? If people don't like it, we'll surely listen to their feedback and revert things to the way they were.

That last part was a bit sarcastic, to be honest. But you know what I'm talking about.

That was the close-up. If we change perspectives – and take a few steps back – it's a different picture altogether.

Are we getting too thin-skinned?

At the end of the day, it's a background that no longer mimics the colors of the album art we're dealing with here. No more pink, blue, orange colors – just a plain gray background. We're not talking about the music player suddenly crashing, or static noise coming out of the speakers.

There's a fine line between getting angry about things that are worth getting angry about and situations where our angst is futile, and we end up hurting ourselves and not "the enemy".

The only solution I can think of right now (maybe this will change in the future) is to get aggravated about the things we don't like (let's raise our voices!), but certainly not to get carried away and overinvest our emotions and – most importantly – our time. We have to bash our heads against the wall, but we've got to know when to do it and when to stop.

In terms of Android Auto, this should mean that everyone who dislikes this new update, should make their opinion known to Google. Whether Big Tech would pay you and me any attention is another matter.

The serious Android Auto issues that should make us mad

Habits do define and form our opinions. For example, I prefer gray/black backgrounds and find the color-adapting background mode lacking in taste. But, hey, that's just me. That's probably because I'm used to having gray/black monochrome backgrounds on my gadgets' displays.

Truth is, I suspect people will just adjust and adapt to new design (if a miracle doesn't happen and Google reverts things back to the way they were). It's in our nature, for good or bad.

But there are real AA (Android Auto) concerns – far more severe than a background's color or the position of a seekbar.

Just one quick glance at the Android Auto subreddit reveals all kinds of horrors. For example, one recurring challenge involves wireless connectivity failures and unexpected phone reboots. These problems seem tied to updates 13.4 and 13.5, deployed in January and February. Several Reddit users described situations where their phones restarted during calls, while streaming music, or even when the device was idle.

In addition to these wireless complications, users have reported problems invoking Google Assistant via Android Auto. Commands triggered by voice or steering wheel prompts cause the audio to stop momentarily, but the assistant fails to process the command and the system immediately resumes playing music. Typical troubleshooting steps – such as clearing cache or reinstalling the app –have not consistently resolved the issue.

Another issue highlighted in Reddit discussions involves frequent connection drops, occurring both over wireless setups and USB cables. Some users report that their Android Auto system connects for a short period – sometimes just minutes – before disconnecting. This happens regardless of cable type or phone model.

So, as much as I hate when companies make unnecessary design changes (why alter something if it works?) and throw us back to the adapting and adjusting stage, I can't ignore the other pressing AA issues.

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