Google is making its built-in automotive software more useful with a redesigned Google Play Store, new entertainment apps, and a YouTube feature that lets drivers continue listening to video audio after shifting into drive. The updates, announced on October 13, are designed to make finding apps easier and improve the experience across vehicles with different infotainment screen sizes and layouts.

The changes arrive as automakers increasingly treat the dashboard as an extension of the digital experience people expect from their phones. With Google built-in, drivers can access supported apps and services directly through their vehicle’s infotainment system without needing to connect a smartphone to use the platform.

Google says its built-in software is available across 16 automotive brands and more than 100 models. The upcoming changes aim to make that experience more consistent, whether someone is browsing entertainment options while parked, charging an electric vehicle, or using navigation during a trip.

Google Play gets a redesigned interface for car displays

The biggest change is a redesigned Google Play experience tailored specifically for vehicles. Google says its in-car app library already includes more than 700 apps, but finding the right one should become easier with the updated storefront.

The new interface will feature a more informative homepage, highlighting featured apps, new releases, and useful app details. Drivers and passengers will also be able to download supported apps with a single tap.

Navigation through the store is getting an overhaul, too. Streamlined menus and curated collections will help users browse apps across categories such as audio, video, and gaming. The experience is intended to make it easier to discover and compare available options, with collections adapted to whether the vehicle is parked or being driven.

Another important change is how the store handles different dashboard displays. Rather than relying on a single fixed layout, Google Play will dynamically adjust to the shape, orientation, and size of the vehicle’s screen.

That matters because infotainment systems vary considerably between automakers. Some vehicles feature wide landscape displays, while others use different screen proportions or dashboard configurations. A flexible interface should make the store easier to navigate across those designs without requiring every vehicle to present the same layout.

STARZ, Firefox, Ludo King, and JioHotstar are coming

Google is also expanding the selection of apps available through Google Play in cars with Google built-in. New additions include STARZ, Firefox, Ludo King, and JioHotstar, bringing more entertainment and browsing options to supported vehicles.

The apps serve different purposes. STARZ and JioHotstar expand video-streaming choices, Firefox brings a web browser to the in-car platform, and Ludo King adds another gaming option.

These additions are primarily relevant when the vehicle is parked. That could mean watching a show while waiting for an electric vehicle to charge, playing a game during a break, or browsing the web while the car is stationary.

The broader goal is to make time spent in a parked vehicle more useful and entertaining. Instead of relying exclusively on a phone or tablet, users can access compatible services through the car’s built-in display.

Availability will depend on the vehicle and supported software, so the announcement should not be taken to mean that every new app will appear in every car equipped with Google built-in.

YouTube audio will continue when you shift into drive

One of the more practical additions addresses a small but familiar inconvenience for people who watch videos while parked.

Google is introducing a feature that lets users watch YouTube videos on the dashboard while the vehicle is stationary and continue listening to the audio when they shift into drive. Instead of playback simply stopping when the car changes state, the audio can continue in the background.

The feature could be useful for people listening to interviews, podcasts published as videos, commentary, or other audio-focused content. A video that begins as something to watch while parked can effectively become something to listen to once the journey resumes.

There is an important catch: the parked-to-drive YouTube feature requires a YouTube Premium subscription. It is therefore not a general background-playback upgrade available to every YouTube user.

The distinction also matters for safety. Google describes the feature around the transition from watching while parked to listening while driving, rather than encouraging drivers to continue watching video on the move.

Google built-in is becoming more than a navigation system

For years, in-car software largely revolved around navigation, phone connectivity, and music playback. Platforms such as Android Auto helped bring familiar smartphone apps to vehicle screens, while Google built-in takes a different approach by integrating Google’s services directly into compatible vehicles.

That integration makes the app ecosystem increasingly important. A better storefront, more entertainment options, and interfaces that adapt to different displays can help make a car’s infotainment system feel less like a collection of manufacturer-specific menus and more like a familiar digital platform.

Google also points to its work with automakers including Mazda, Honda, Polestar, BYD, and Volvo, alongside media developers and services such as Audible, Pandora, SiriusXM, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Gaana, and The Post. Those partnerships underline the range of content and services that could shape future in-car experiences.

The company also highlights General Motors vehicles, including the next-generation 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, as examples of models with expansive center displays that can benefit from Google built-in.

The larger challenge is making these experiences useful without distracting drivers. Entertainment and web browsing make sense while parked, but interfaces used on the road need to keep the driver’s attention on driving. Features that preserve audio playback while removing the need to watch a screen are one way to address that balance.

When will the updates arrive?

Google says the redesigned Google Play experience will begin rolling out to cars with Google built-in over the coming weeks. The update will be delivered automatically to compatible vehicle displays, rather than requiring drivers to install a separate app-store update manually.

Google has not said that every vehicle will receive every app or feature at the same time. Actual availability will depend on vehicle compatibility and the services supported by each system.

For drivers, the changes are evolutionary rather than a complete overhaul of the in-car platform. But they address several everyday frustrations at once: finding apps, navigating interfaces built for different screens, accessing more entertainment while parked, and keeping YouTube audio playing when a journey begins.

As more automakers bring Google services into their dashboards, those seemingly small improvements could make a meaningful difference in how people use their cars when they are not actually driving.