Our smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives, whether you’re sitting on the toilet or lying in bed. It’s hard to think of a time of day when you don’t need your smartphone somewhere nearby. That includes while driving! That’s why it’s not surprising that Google made it a priority to develop Android Auto.
Android Auto is essentially a software bridge between your smartphone and the infotainment system in your car. There are already over 150 million vehicles with Android Auto running on them by Google’s numbers.
Because of the number of different Android Auto cars, it’s not surprising that there may be some compatibility issues. For this reason, Google may make certain decisions to ensure that the application works exactly on as many screens as possible. This is likely the case with the Android Auto full-screen issue many people face. In some instances, Android Auto doesn’t use the full screen, which can be really annoying considering how big some infotainment system displays.
If you’re dealing with this issue and fed up, it’s time to learn how to make Android Auto full screen. There’s no better place to do that than here, so let’s get right into it!
Do you have a particular question about making Android Auto full screen? Then use the table of contents below to jump to the most relevant section. And you can always go back by clicking on the black arrow in the right bottom corner of the page. Also, please note that some of the links in this article may be affiliate links. For more details, check the Disclosure section at the bottom of the page.
Here's what we'll cover:
Can Android Auto go full screen on the 10″ display?
So, you must have a big ten-inch screen in your car, but despite all that real estate for the software, the application only chooses to use part of the screen. That’s very familiar to me and might be to you, as you might notice Android Auto on 10.5 screens only using 2/3 of the screen or so. Depending on the model, the rest of the screen will usually only have the Android Auto logo or just plain black.
So then, can you make Android Auto full screen for the huge displays on some of these infotainment systems? Well, if you’re using a car made by Hyundai or Kia, then there’s no way to make it full screen as of the time of writing.
The Android Auto widescreen option is meant to be enabled by the car manufacturer when they develop the head unit. However, in the case of these two brands, many users have spoken up about how they don’t get full screen and how there’s no way to get it done. Unless the manufacturer implements it in the software on their side.
How to make Android Auto full screen?
Your Android Auto interface is likely already fullscreen if you’re using it from a smaller display. However, you might notice that your Android Auto is in Android Auto widescreen mode on larger displays or widescreen displays. This mode is when you have two-thirds of the screen used by the main interface, and the remainder is a side panel, usually with the Android Auto logo.
On some of these infotainment systems, particularly the smaller ones, you might have luck getting it to fill the whole screen by diving into the Android Auto developer settings.
How to make Android Auto full screen from developer mode?
You can get your Android Auto full screen on most devices at the cost of a higher resolution by jumping into the developer options. The good thing is, it’s quite easy to get into the developer settings. All you need to do is follow the steps below:
- Open the Android Auto app on your smartphone.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and find the “About” section.
- Tap multiple times on the “Version” entry. Do this until you see a prompt asking to enable Android Auto developer mode. Accept it.
- Now, select the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
- Press “Developer Settings.”
- Now, scroll down to the entry in the menu called “Video Resolution.”
- Select “Allow up to 720p”.
You can now try to reconnect your Android to your car. If you previously had a side panel, the interface should now be properly full screen, which is great if you want your smartphone to use all that glorious screen. This should also work for Android Auto portrait mode.
Just know that if your car leaves black borders around the interface, this isn’t very likely to work, as it is up to the manufacturer to remedy the situation!
Credits: Thanks for the photo to Canva.
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