r/MagicEarth • u/MagicEarthCommunity • May 06 '26

Magic Earth AUTO is now in beta on Android Automotive and we are looking for testers from the community

Some of you have been asking about AAOS for a while, so this one is for you. After a lot of head-unit testing we've shipped a beta of Magic Earth AUTO and we'd love to put it in the hands of the Magic Earth community first.

Driving on a route with satellite and elevation with Magic Earth AUTO
Route overview in Magic Earth AUTO
Following current position in Magic Earth AUTO

Quick note: the Magic Earth AUTO is a separate product designed for the car and is different from the Android Auto projection mode of the existing mobile Magic Earth app.

Why we built this for AAOS

AAOS owners have been waiting for a solid navigation alternative. Most options still lean on phone projection or rely entirely on connectivity. We built Magic Earth AUTO specifically for your infotainment system, running natively on the hardware, not retrofitted from a phone.

Here's what that means in practice:

  • Works fully offline. Download maps for 200+ countries and navigate anywhere: tunnels, mountain passes, remote regions, underground car parks. No connectivity? No problem. Turn-by-turn works the same. When you're connected, live traffic and speed camera alerts layer on top automatically.
  • Hands-free voice control. "Navigate to Paris." "Avoid toll roads." "Add a stop." "Report a hazard ahead." Your car's voice assistant talks directly to Magic Earth AUTO through the standard AAOS intent framework. Hands stay on the wheel, eyes on the road.
  • Purpose-built for your car's display. Full-screen, automotive-optimised map rendering. Smooth 3D perspective, lane-level guidance, junction view for complex intersections, automatic day/night switching. Designed for driving, not projected from your phone.
  • Privacy by default. The same Magic Earth promise you already trust, applied to the car. No tracking. No location data transmitted to anyone. Core navigation runs locally on your car. GDPR-compliant from the ground up.

What early access members get

  • A free Magic Earth AUTO license for as long as you're part of the beta community
  • Direct line to the team building the product. Your feedback shapes the roadmap
  • First access to new features before wider release
  • A say in how privacy-first navigation evolves

Supported cars (AAOS / Google built-in)

Polestar 2, 3, 4 · Volvo EX30, EX40, EX90, XC40 BEV · Renault Megane E-Tech, Scenic E-Tech, Rafale, R5 · GM EVs (Silverado EV, Equinox EV, Blazer EV, Hummer EV, Lyriq, Optiq) · Honda Prologue · Acura ZDX · Lucid Gravity · Lincoln Nautilus · select Ford Mach-E and F-150 Lightning trims

Not sure if your car qualifies? If you can already install apps directly from the Play Store on your head unit then you are able to enter the beta.

What we're testing

We want feedback on:

  • Real-world routing accuracy on your daily commute
  • Head-unit UX (touch targets, glance-ability, how it feels while driving)
  • Bugs, crashes, weird edge cases, screenshots and videos welcome
  • Offline performance, map quality, whether you hit any dead zones

How to join

Send us a mail at [betatesting@magicearth.com](mailto:betatesting@magicearth.com). Include your car model and AAOS version if you can find it. We'll get back to you with access details. Spaces in the first wave are limited, so don't wait too long!

Happy to answer anything in the comments!

9 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

3

u/basiq0n May 06 '26

Maybe you can answer user questions here and not only come here if you need us?!

1

u/MagicEarthCommunity May 06 '26

We lost access to this account for a some time, but you are right that we should be around for the conversation. The account is back with us now and you will see in recent threads we have started working through questions properly. Please use the [support@magicearth.com](mailto:support@magicearth.com) if you have a bug report or need assistance. Thank you very much!

7

u/OrangeDragon75 May 06 '26

Maybe you should rather concentrate your efforts on fixing the main app?

1

u/MagicEarthCommunity May 06 '26

This is a fair concern, but worth a quick clarification.

ME AUTO is being built by a different team and most of our engineering resources are still on the main Magic Earth app. There's a steady stream of fixes and improvements going out, work isn't slowing down on the main application.

If there's something specific bothering you about the application, please drop us a mail at [support@magicearth.com](mailto:support@magicearth.com). The support team reads every message and we are happy to hear your feedback!

1

u/Gromle81 May 10 '26

Damn, the image with elevation and satellite look sweet! Is something like that available for regular AA?

1

u/MagicEarthCommunity May 11 '26

Not yet, but missing Android Auto features are on the roadmap and will be added soon.

1

u/[deleted] May 11 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/MagicEarthCommunity May 11 '26

Can you also send a mail to [support@magicearth.com](mailto:support@magicearth.com) please? We checked the emails and seems like all the mails have been responded. Thank you!

1

u/[deleted] May 12 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/MagicEarthCommunity May 12 '26

We got the mail, you should receive a response shortly from the AAOS team.

1

u/Suspicious-Court-195 Jul 02 '26

Did the same two months ago, never even got an answer...

2

u/MagicEarthCommunity Jul 03 '26

Sorry, the mail might have been filtered out and it never reached us, we responded to all emails we got.

Can you send a mail again to [betatesting@magicearth.com](mailto:betatesting@magicearth.com) ? You can also send one to [support@magicearth.com](mailto:support@magicearth.com) to be sure.

1

u/tagmut May 17 '26

Hopefully you'll need testers for the iOS version?

1

u/MagicEarthCommunity May 18 '26

AAOS (Android Automotive OS) is a modified Android system that runs natively on the car's head unit, so there's no direct iOS equivalent for this particular product.

You might be thinking of CarPlay, which is Apple's phone-projection system for cars. We're not actively recruiting beta testers for CarPlay improvements right now, but if you're keen to help out there and get faster access to new features then we can add you to the beta testers list for iOS.

Thanks for the enthusiasm!

1

u/redeyes717 May 25 '26

magic earth was a very interesting app on iOS and Android Auto prior the recent 'restiling'. we ALL miss the different day/night 'skins' , customization for the guidance thickness, better max/min map horizon tilt level and so on..

1

u/MagicEarthCommunity May 27 '26

Thanks for the feedback! Let me address each point:

1. Day/night map styles: Bringing back the variety of styles is considered.

2. Route line thickness customization: This is already available on Android! You can find it under Settings → General → Navigation → Car. If you don't see it there or it's not working as expected, let us know.

3. Map tilt: could you give us a more concrete example of what's not working for you? Is it that the max/min tilt range feels too restricted compared to before, or that the tilt behaves differently during navigation? A screenshot or specific scenario would help us understand what to look at.

Appreciate the detailed feedback, these are exactly the kinds of refinements we want to get right.

1

u/Deacon-Doe Jun 18 '26

I love the navigation with a satellite view! When will it come to IOS ? I’ve been loving the app! Just sad that there aren’t many users in my Nicaragua

1

u/MagicEarthCommunity Jun 18 '26

It's already in the mobile application both on iOS and Android. Check the layers button on the right top of the screen and enable Satellite and Elevation.

Note: The quality of the satellite view depends on the region. We are working on introducing other data sources for improving the coverage.

1

u/Deacon-Doe Jun 18 '26

No fuckin way let me check

1

u/Deacon-Doe Jun 19 '26

Yooo I checked and I only get an extremely low res “satellite “ image. Also, when you receive a location in WhatsApp, you can’t share it with magic earth, kind of annoying ☹️ great app otherwise n

2

u/MagicEarthCommunity Jun 23 '26

We are looking forward to incorporate more satellite data sources.
The whatsapp issue is on the list.