Overview
- Android Auto beta 15.7 has begun replacing Google Assistant with Gemini for selected users via a server-side switch.
- Maps with Gemini introduces hands-free, dialog-based driving with multi-step voice queries, calendar access by consent, simple voice incident reports, and landmark-based directions.
- Google says landmark cues draw on data from over 250 million places and current Street View imagery, with some features and Lens-based exploration launching first in the United States.
- Google states the Maps update will roll out in the coming weeks on Android and iOS where Gemini is available, with no specific timeline yet for Germany or wider Europe.
- New developer tools—Builder-agent, Grounding Lite with Model Context Protocol, Contextual View, and an MCP-linked Code Assistant—open Maps data and map generation to third-party models and apps.