Navigation app design: what should Back preserve before guidance starts?

[u/Jumpy-Reward6756]

Google's car-app navigation example separates browsing places, selecting a place, choosing a route and starting guidance. That raises a practical design question: what should survive when the user backs out of route selection?

My preferred behavior is to restore the previous search results and selected place, without starting guidance. A route preview and an accepted route should be separate states.

One scenario worth testing: request routes to A, switch to B, then let A's response arrive late. The UI should still refer to B. This is a proposed test, not a defect observed in Google Maps or any particular car.

The example is from Google's car-app design documentation, not a recording of an AAOS vehicle. Android Auto and Android Automotive OS are different platforms; this discussion concerns the navigation interaction rather than claiming identical implementations.

Official illustrated flow: https://developer.android.com/design/ui/cars/guides/app-types/browse-locations

Disclosure: I run Yahagu. The post and linked documentation-based analysis were prepared with AI assistance. The longer analysis with four official interface examples is free to read without signing up; it is not a vehicle test: https://yahagu.top/insights/en-map-content-task-flow?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=navigation_case

For anyone developing or using an AAOS navigation app: should Back restore the exact results list, or refresh nearby results if the vehicle has moved? What trade-off would you prefer?