Apps
Android Auto 13.3 update hints at radio station integration
Google has rolled out the Android Auto 13.3 Beta update, which reveals exciting new radio features. The fresh update hints at new ways to manage radio stations and local media on your car’s infotainment system.
Over the past few months, Google has been working on a “Car Media” app designed to provide more control over local media, using both locally stored content and streaming services.
Now, the Android Auto 13.3 beta update suggests that Google is focusing on integrating radio stations, with the addition of a comprehensive list of music genres and radio station categories ranging from genres like Classic Rock and Jazz to Emergency and Weather programming.
The full list of genres and categories is as follows:
- Adult hits
- Alarm
- Alarm test
- “Children’s programmes”
- Classic rock
- Classical
- College
- Country
- Country music
- Culture
- Current affairs
- Documentary
- Drama
- Easy listening
- Education
- Emergency
- Emergency test
- Finance
- Folk music
- Hip hop
- Information
- Jazz
- Jazz music
- Language
- Leisure
- Light classical
- National music
- News
- Nostalgia
- Oldies
- Oldies music
- Other music
- Personality
- Phone-in
- Pop music
- Public
- Religion
- Religious music
- Religious talk
- Rhythm and blues
- Rock
- Rock music
- Science
- Serious classical
- Social affairs
- Soft music
- Soft rhythm and blues
- Soft rock
- Spanish Music
- Spanish Talk
- Sport
- Sports
- Talk
- Top 40
- Travel
- Varied
- Weather
Although we haven’t seen these features appear yet, the update hints that they are coming soon. Right now, it seems like these categories are being prepared as placeholders for radio station data. They will likely show up when the “Car Media” app is fully launched.
However, it’s unclear exactly when these radio features will be available or how they will work. The new functionality might require deeper integration with car systems, which Google has been working on recently.