YouTube has started rolling out support for Android Auto on Android devices. The feature is now available widely and has been spotted across multiple devices, accounts, and app versions, both in the beta and stable tracks, with Reddit users also reporting the same.
While this is a step forward for people who use YouTube while on the move, the functionality is fairly basic for now and falls well short of what many users have been expecting.
What Can You Actually Do With YouTube On Android Auto?
This is not a full YouTube app experience on Android Auto. You cannot play videos, and there is no full-screen media controls interface either.
YouTube only appears in the dashboard media widget, where you can play or pause content and skip forward to the next video. It is worth noting that this is a full video skip, not a skip within the current video, and the same action applies to steering wheel controls as well.
That said, the feature does have its uses. There are plenty of podcasts, clips, and full YouTube videos that work just fine as audio-only content while driving, so for those users, this addition will be a welcome one. Google has also not ruled out a more complete Android Auto integration in the future.
Do You Need YouTube Premium For This To Work?
Yes, a YouTube Premium subscription is required for this feature, since background play is not available on free accounts.
However, as of February 2026, background play is included in the $7.99 per month Premium Lite plan, which brings the cost down to a more affordable level compared to the full Premium tier.
For now, this is a limited but functional addition that gives Android Auto users a bit more control over YouTube playback without reaching for their phones while driving.
