[Hands on] Google Podcasts starts getting Android Auto integration

Google introduced podcast support to the Play Music app two years ago, but last month the company introduced a revamped podcast experience that's integrated into the Google Assistant and Google Home. There's also a "dedicated" app on the Google Play Store which is actually just a shortcut to the Google App. Listening to podcasts can be a great way to pass time while driving, but if you use the Android Auto app then you've probably noticed that you can't control podcasts unless you started playing the podcast before launching Android Auto. Even then, you're just limited to the standard playback controls for the currently playing podcast and can't quickly switch to your other downloaded podcasts. That'll change soon, however, as Google is testing an integration between Google Podcasts and the Android Auto app.

Discovered by XDA Recognized Developer Quinny899 and enabled by us, you'll be able to access your podcasts by selecting the "Google" option in the media section of Android Auto. Expand the sidebar and you'll find 4 options:

• Your podcasts
• New episodes
• Downloads
• In progress

You can quickly find the podcast you want to play, launch it, and then use the built-in media controls to control playback without ever leaving the Auto app. You have the option to play, pause, skip to the previous podcast, rewind 10 seconds, or rewind 30 seconds. The screenshots below show the new interface.

Once the feature begins rolling out, you'll need the latest version of the Google App and the Android Auto app to take advantage of it. The Google Podcasts app will also come in handy if you would rather not navigate through a few menus to access your podcasts. You can download the latest versions of each application from the Google Play Store links embedded below.

Google (Free, Google Play) →

Android Auto - Maps, Media, Messaging & Voice (Free, Google Play) →

Google Podcasts (Free, Google Play) →

We'll update this article when the feature rolls out for more users.

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