Google just made an irksome change to Maps on Android Auto

Google is well known for making unnecessary UI tweaks, and those changes can sometimes come at the frustration of its customers. The latest entry in this unending saga is affecting Google Maps users on Android Auto.

A few days ago, Google rolled out an update to Android Auto (version 13.6). This update didn’t come with any new features, just improvements to stability and bug fixes. It also introduced changes to make Maps fit better on an Android Auto screen and make navigation easier to read. That probably sounds all well and good, but there’s a tiny problem.

It seems the tech giant didn’t account for using Maps with navigation disabled. When navigation isn’t on, the app will instead display a box with a search field and common destinations below it. This destination box takes up a fair amount of screen space, but it wasn’t usually much of a problem because the map was right aligned. After this update, however, the map is now centered, which is causing the destination box to cover up the route you’re driving on.

Users were quick to flock to Reddit to voice their frustrations about the UI change. Some mention that you can minimize the destination box if needed. But others point out that minimizing is only a temporary solution as the box doesn’t stay minimized. It appears the only other solution available is enabling navigation.

We have contacted Google to ask about this issue. This article will be updated once more information is available.