Mysterious change to Google Maps is causing a lot of confusion on Android Auto

In addition to the standard navigation features, Google Maps also offers a number of extras, some of which are less obvious than others but still play an important role in the overall experience with the app.

One such feature is the adaptation of Google Maps to different types of displays and cars. For example, if you own a right-hand drive car, Google Maps can automatically adjust the user interface to show basic information about the driver.

For example, no matter what kind of vehicle you have (left or right drive), Google Maps always shows the most important navigation details in the driver’s vicinity, which is quite logical, since the application should primarily be operated on the steering wheel

But as it turns out, the recent change in Google Maps has made things so confusing for many users that the design on right-hand drive cars has been reset to make it look like a left-handed model when running the app on Android Auto.

Needless to say, such a change in layout is as unexpected as possible and sometimes makes Google Maps difficult to use, especially with navigation enabled.

On the other hand, it is not entirely clear why this change was made in Google Maps. Google itself has confirmed that it is investigating reports that Google Maps is using the LHD configuration in RHD cars and this appears to be an indication that it is just a bug and not the intended behavior.

Is there anything you can do to get your vehicle back in place? Not really, because the generic solutions available now don’t seem to make any difference. Resetting Google Maps, clearing the cache, and all the other typical tricks will not restore the expected behavior in Google Maps because they force users to stick to some basic information that appears near the passenger and not the driver himself.

As expected, users warn that this change not only makes Google Maps more confusing and confusing, but also distracting and sometimes dangerous.

“It’s on the verge of collapse today because the map is now shown on the left side of the screen, away from the driver, which is very distracting.” someone explain In the official Google forums where dozens of users have already reported the same issue with Android Auto.

“This really needs fixing! In its current form, it’s distracting, unusable, and dangerous because you have to look at the passenger side of the screen.Another person has been added.

Who has a higher chance of getting this problem in the meantime? As it turns out, this often happens in RHD cars, and while it’s not yet clear if left-hand drive models are affected as well, I’m seeing more and more people complaining that Google Maps suddenly changed their layout overnight.

And now some good news. Google has confirmed that the issue is already under investigation. On the other hand, however, there is no specific time to get to when the fix is ​​released so that Google Maps can get back to normal.

If you struggle with this problem and think Google Maps behind the wheel is confusing and dangerous, you unfortunately have no choice but to switch to a different navigation app, at least until Google finds a solution.

There are plenty of worthwhile alternatives out there, but one of the best is undoubtedly Waze, another Google-owned navigation solution that also helps you avoid traffic in a specific area. On the other hand, Waze lacks offline map support because it requires a stable internet connection to get reports from other users and determine the fastest route to the destination.