Android Auto gets much better when you remove these 3 apps from the launcher

Published Sep 9, 2026, 1:30 PM EDT Arol is a tech journalist who currently works as a contributor at How-To Geek since 2022. He first began writing online for the short-lived portal of Spanish-language gaming forum Emudesc in 2013. Years later, in 2017, he got his true start in tech journalism working for a small Google-focused site called Pixel Spot. He transitioned to a news and feature writer role at XDA Developers that same year, where he worked until 2021 before making the jump to other websites. Arol brings nearly a decade of writing experience, and the occasional hot take, to his writings. While he's a technology lover at heart, he holds computer hardware and smartphones particularly close to heart. You'll normally find him covering news, although he has also written the occasional deal, buyer's guide, how-to post, and round-up. He's also written for Android Police and MakeUseOf. He's also a Political Science student. When he's not writing, you'll probably find him hitting the gym, trying to ace a new hobby, reading his textbooks, or traveling. You can reach him at me@arolwright.com. Android Auto's launcher can get crowded fast, and a cluttered screen is the last thing you want staring back at you while driving. Trimming it down to the essentials makes the whole experience faster, safer, and far less distracting. Duplicate navigation apps Why running two GPS apps backfires Most Android Auto users end up with more than one navigation app installed at some point, whether it's Google Maps alongside Waze, or a manufacturer's own mapping tool bundled in from the factory. Each of these apps competes for space on the launcher, and having more than one visible does nothing but add friction to a screen that should prioritize speed and clarity. When two navigation apps sit side by side, the system has to guess which one you actually want to use for voice commands, recent destinations, and quick shortcuts, which can lead to inconsistent behavior and unnecessary taps before a route even starts. Removing the app you use less often, through the Customize launcher menu found under Settings, Connected devices, Connection preferences, and then Android Auto, immediately simplifies that decision. It also means the launcher's search and shortcut features work more predictably, since there's no ambiguity about which app should open by default. Beyond the interface itself, running fewer navigation apps active in Android Auto reduces background resource use on the phone, since each mapping app typically keeps GPS, traffic data, and rerouting logic running while connected. That matters more on older or budget phones, where thermal throttling and battery drain during a long drive are real concerns. And also, keeping a single, reliable navigation app also builds a more consistent muscle memory behind the wheel, since drivers won't have to relearn menu layouts or voice command phrasing depending on which app happens to be selected that day. For most people, really, picking one primary navigation app and disabling the rest is one of the simplest changes that really just fuzzes up your driving experience. Unnecessary messaging apps Fewer chat apps mean fewer distractions Credit: Bertel King / How-To Geek Android Auto supports notifications and read-aloud functionality for a wide range of messaging platforms, but that doesn't mean every one of them needs a spot on the launcher. Many phones ship with, or accumulate over time, multiple messaging apps: a default SMS app, a work-focused platform, and one or two social apps with chat features layered in. Every messaging app left enabled in Android Auto adds another source of incoming notification sounds and pop-ups competing for attention while driving, which runs counter to the entire point of a driver-focused interface. Trimming this list down to the one or two apps actually used for daily communication reduces both visual clutter and audio interruptions during a trip. It also speeds up how Android Auto handles incoming messages, since the system doesn't need to sort through as many potential sources when deciding what to surface and read aloud. From a safety standpoint, this matters more than it might seem. Every additional app capable of triggering a notification is another potential distraction, and distracted driving remains one of the more preventable risks on the road. Disabling apps that rarely get used for messaging while driving, through the same Customize launcher settings menu, keeps the notification stream focused and predictable. It also makes the launcher itself easier to scan visually, since fewer icons mean less time spent glancing away from the road to find the right shortcut. For anyone who relies on Android Auto daily, narrowing messaging apps down to what's genuinely necessary is a small change that pays off every single drive. Additional music streaming apps One music app is plenty behind the wheel Credit: Dibakar Ghosh | How-To Geek Streaming services have a way of piling up on a phone, and Android Auto will happily display every compatible one it finds, whether that's a primary subscription, a free trial that never got canceled, or a podcast-focused app used only occasionally. Keeping all of them visible on the launcher spreads media controls across multiple icons instead of consolidating them where they're needed most. This becomes especially noticeable when using voice commands, since Android Auto sometimes struggles to determine which streaming app should handle a request when several are enabled at once. Removing the apps that aren't actually used for driving playlists narrows that ambiguity and makes voice-based playback more reliable. There's also a practical screen space argument: Android Auto's launcher only shows so many icons before requiring extra scrolling or swiping, and music apps that rarely get opened while driving are simply taking up a slot that could go to something more useful, like a frequently used navigation or communication shortcut. Cutting down to a single primary music app also simplifies the Bluetooth and media session handoff that happens when a car connects, since the system defaults to fewer competing audio sources. For those who juggle more than one subscription for different moods or genres, it's worth keeping only the one used most often visible in the car and switching manually on the rare occasion another is needed. The result: a launcher that opens directly to the controls that matter, without extra icons to sort through before a drive even begins. A tidier launcher makes for a safer drive Removing duplicate navigation, messaging, and music apps from Android Auto's launcher isn't just cosmetic. It cuts distractions, speeds up voice commands, and makes the interface faster to use every time you get behind the wheel.