Android Auto 11.9 Is Here, Here’s How to Update Without Waiting

The parent company has significantly accelerated the release pace of new Android Auto updates, with fresh builds landing in the beta and stable channels every few weeks.

Google has now shipped Android Auto 11.9 to production devices, with the first Android phones getting the update as we speak through the Google Play Store. However, Google’s phased rollout model means that not everybody gets new updates on day one, as the company gradually releases updates to devices.

The process helps Google detect bugs in the early phases, improving the general reliability and fixing problems before the broad availability stage is reached.

However, thanks to a process called sideloading, everybody can download Android Auto 11.9 today. It means you can skip the long wait for the update to be enabled on the Google Play Store on your device if you follow a few simple steps.

First, you must download the Android Auto 11.9 APK installer. This file allows you to manually launch the update process. When the download is complete, you must browse to the file’s location using a file manager and tap the APK installer to begin the update. The process is completed in a few seconds and might involve special requirements for installing the update from a non-Google Play Store – you’ll see a prompt during the wizard.

Android Auto 11.9 comes without fresh release notes, as Google has stopped sharing what’s new information about its updates. However, the new release is likely to continue the work on features that we’ve previously spotted online, including a redesign of the settings experience on mobile devices. You probably didn’t feel the need for a styling update, considering users rarely launch the settings UI on their mobile devices, especially if Android Auto works correctly, but Google forgot this menu needed the Material You treatment. The UI still lacked a dark mode, switching to the light visual style regardless of the settings on your mobile device.

The dark mode in the Settings UI appeared a few weeks ago but is not yet available for everybody. Android Auto 11.9 could improve the availability, albeit the redesign isn’t directly tied to an app update.

Meanwhile, the update is expected to bring additional polishing and under-the-hood bug fixes, so you should install the new version as soon as possible. If you spot any differences, make sure you let me know in the box after the jump.

If everything works correctly, Google should complete the rollout in the coming weeks, with the update to appear on all devices getting updates through the Google Play Store (and not installing this new version manually using the process above).